Department for Transport

Network Rail: Property

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many businesses rent properties in Network Rail’s arches in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency.

Andrew Jones: Network Rail has 3,822 tenanted properties in England, of which approximately 2,307 are in London. Network Rail does not record its properties on a constituency basis and therefore it is not possible to provide figures for the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency.

Driving: Eyesight

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that all road users have adequate vision.

Jesse Norman: All drivers must be able to meet the required visual acuity and visual field standards, which includes being able to read a number plate from 20 metres. Drivers are legally responsible for notifying the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) at any time of a change in their health or vision which may affect their ability to meet the appropriate standards. The DVLA investigates all such notifications. The Government fully supports the NHS’s recommendation that adults should have their eyes tested every two years. The DVLA runs regular national eyesight awareness campaigns to encourage drivers to take the number plate test and highlight the importance of having regular eyesight tests. These campaigns are promoted across a number of social media channels and in partnership with key stakeholders and charities. On 22 November, the Government published its response to the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review, including a 50 point action plan for the next two years. As part of this plan, the DVLA will encourage drivers to check their eyesight regularly, and consider the needs of vulnerable road users.

Crossrail Line

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on delivering Crossrail on time.

Andrew Jones: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Mayor of London, covering a variety of subjects including Crossrail. Crossrail Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of TfL. The Department will continue to work with Transport for London (TfL) as Joint Sponsors to oversee Crossrail Limited’s delivery of the new railway as soon as possible.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) HS2 Ltd, (b) third party contractors or (c) his Department will be liable in the event that settlement damage to vulnerable and listed buildings occurs due to works along the High Speed Two London tunnel route.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The nominated undertaker (HS2) will reimburse reasonable costs subject to the conditions outlined in the Information Papers C3 & C14 that were prepared in support of the Phase 1 Act. Please refer to Section 8 of the Information Paper.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much HS2 Ltd has spent on compensation grouting in advance of construction work along the High Speed Two London tunnel route.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: HS2 Ltd has spent nothing on compensation grouting to date. HS2 Ltd has required the contractors to procure tunnel boring machines that are capable of limiting ground movements.

Shipping: Recruitment

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether seafarer recruitment and placement agencies registered in (a) Crown Dependencies and (b) British Overseas Territories operate in the territory of the UK for the purposes of compliance with (i) Regulation 1.4 and (ii) Standard A1.4 of the Maritime Labour Convention.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Seafarer recruitment and placement agencies registered or otherwise based in (a) Crown Dependencies and (b) British Overseas Territories do not operate in the territory of the UK for the purposes of compliance with Regulation 1.4 and Standard A1.5 of the Maritime Labour Convention.

Shipping: Recruitment

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many seafarer (a) Ratings and (b) Officers working in the UK shipping industry are employed by recruitment and placement agencies registered outside the UK.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We do not collect those statistics. The recruitment and placement of seafarers on UK registered vessels must comply with the requirements set down in the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014 and this covers where the recruitment and placement may occur outside the UK.

Shipping: Recruitment

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish a list of those maritime recruitment and placement agencies that provide crew to company groups which have qualified for the tonnage tax; and whether each of those agencies are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for compliance with the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Recruitment and Placement) Regulations 2014.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We do not ask companies to provide that information when providing data to the government to show compliance with the requirements set down in the Tonnage Tax legislation. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency publishes a list of all agencies that is has certified.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/759250/RECRUITMENT_AND_PLACEMENT_AGENCIES_22_11_18.pdf All vessels within our Tonnage Tax are registered in States who have ratified the Maritime Labour Convention and therefore would be required to comply with the recruitment and placement requirements of that Convention.

Shipping: Recruitment

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many UK-resident seafarer (a) Ratings and (b) Officers are employed on tonnage tax qualifying vessels registered on (i) the UK flag, (ii) other Red Ensign Group flags and (iii) non-UK flags.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The statistics that we hold do not differentiate Red Ensign Group registries and only consider UK registered vessels and non UK registered vessels. As of 30 November 2018;There are 1,304 UK resident seafarer ratings employed on TT qualifying vessels registered on UK flag and 1,478 on TT qualifying vessels not registered on the UK flag. There are 1,305 UK resident officers employed on TT qualifying vessels registered on UK flags and 2,066 UK resident officers employed on TT qualifying vessels not registered on UK flags.

Shipping: Recruitment

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many cases of non-compliance with the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Recruitment and Placement) Regulations 2014 have been recorded by Maritime and Coastguard Agency surveyors since those regulations came into force.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The requirements of the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Recruitment and Placement) Regulations 2014 are not enforced by Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) surveyors. Under the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers, etc) Regulations 2014, shipowners are required to use only recruitment and placement services which comply with the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006. During survey and inspection of UK and non-UK ships, the MCA has recorded 121 case of non-compliance with this requirement on UK-flagged ships and 15 cases on foreign-flagged ships calling at UK ports, under Port State Control, since these Regulations came into force in the UK on 7 August 2014.

Shipping: Training

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2018 to Question 180168 on Shipping: Training, which merchant vessel departments those 40 ratings were trained to work in.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department does not request information relating to which department individual trainees are trained in.

Shipping: Training

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2018 to Question 180168 on Shipping: Training, whether those 40 ratings are (a) employed in the UK shipping industry and (b) UK residents.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department does not hold information relating to which vessels specific ratings trainees are employed on. Some companies have Tonnage Tax fleets with a mix of UK and non-UK flagged vessels but are not required to report which vessel each rating trainee is employed on. The Department does not require companies to report the residential address of ratings trainees. We receive aggregated data on the citizenship of all employees on vessels entered into tonnage tax, but do not ask for specific citizenship or residency information for each trainee.

International Maritime Organisation

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on public scrutiny of the International Maritime Organisation’s decision-making process.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Public access to documentation and meetings of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is a topic currently being discussed at the IMO Council. The UK is actively taking part in these discussions and is fully supportive of the principle of more public access and transparency.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the Royal Fleet Auxiliary contract for a new fleet of solid support vessels; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of that contract on the level of UK (a) commercial shipbuilding and (b) merchant seafarers.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Secretary of State and his officials regularly discuss a range of issues with their counterparts in the Ministry of Defence. The National Shipbuilding Strategy is transforming the way that the Ministry of Defence procures naval ships. Through this Strategy, MOD continues to focus on supporting the sector to become more innovative, productive and competitive. As non-warships, the Fleet Solid Support ships are being procured through international competition. The Ministry of Defence has however encouraged UK companies to participate and have been pleased with the positive engagement with UK shipyards and the wider supply chain to date. No direct assessments have been made on the effects of the contract on the level of UK commercial shipbuilding or merchant seafarers. It should however be noted that the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is one of the biggest employers of UK ratings and still maintains a nationality requirement for recruitment which is open only to British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens.

Biofuels

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has his Department made of the effect on the economy of the introduction of (a) E10 and (b) E80 fuel.

Jesse Norman: The cost benefit analysis published alongside amendments to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) this year includes an assessment of the effects of E10 should it be deployed to meet increased targets for the supply of renewable fuel. Any future proposal to require the introduction of E10 would be subject to a full consultation with an accompanying impact assessment setting out the potential economic impacts. Most petrol vehicles in the UK can use E10, which is the test fuel for new vehicles. By contrast there are very few vehicles in the UK compatible with significantly higher blends of ethanol in petrol, such as E80 and E85, and the wide use of such fuels is considered to be of low probability in the near future.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Climate Change: Finance

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to provide additional funding to tackle climate change in next year’s comprehensive spending review.

Claire Perry: Plans will be set out in the Spending Review in 2019. The Spending Review will set budgets for resource spending for 2020/21 onwards and for capital spending for 2021/22 onwards.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many meetings he had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 September and 30 November 2018.

Richard Harrington: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy met with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser on 6 occasions between 1 September and 30 November 2018.

Intellectual Property: Enforcement

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will undertake an assessment of the adequacy of the level of penalties for the infringement of intellectual property.

Richard Harrington: The Government is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the intellectual property enforcement framework, as set out in its Enforcement Strategy “Protecting creativity, supporting innovation: IP Enforcement 2020”. This review will include an assessment of the adequacy of the current penalties for infringement of intellectual property rights, and is expected to be published in due course.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

USA: State Visits

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his Department's data Costs relating to State and Guest of Government visits, if he will update that data to include the July 2018 visit to the UK of US President Donald Trump for the costs relating to state and guests of Government visits.

Sir Alan Duncan: Information on the cost to the FCO for President Trump's Guest of Government visit will be published on the gov.uk website (link below) shortly.https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/costs-relating-to-state-and-guest-of-government-visits

Israel: Palestinians

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the ability of the United States to continue to be an honest broker in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We welcome President Trump's desire to bring an end to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. We agree on the importance of the US' bringing forward detailed proposals for a viable peace agreement that addresses the legitimate concerns of both parties. We continue to believe the best way to achieve this is through substantive peace talks between the parties leading to a two-state solution based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps, Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states, and a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for refugees.

Wildlife: Conservation

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with international (a) counterparts and (b) partners on tackling the reduction in the global wildlife population.

Mark Field: ​The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered species. I was delighted to co-host the London international Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) Conference on 11-12 October with the Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and International Development. We welcomed representatives from over 70 countries including three Presidents (Uganda, Gabon, Botswana), two First Ladies (Kenya, Sierra Leone), two Deputy Prime Ministers (Cambodia, DRC) and US Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Discussions built coalitions between countries and the NGO and business communities to treat the illegal wildlife trade as a serious and organised crime; and to close markets for illegally traded wildlife. We will continue to work with our international colleagues to drive forward action to tackle this abhorrent crime. Most recently, I raised IWT with Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan during a visit to Vietnam and encouraged progress on commitments around demand reduction and law enforcement.

Pakistan: Christianity

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the levels of forced repatriation of Christian asylum seekers to Pakistan.

Mark Field: The UK has a proud history of providing protection for those in need, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. We encourage all states to honour in full their international human rights obligations.The British Government regularly raises its concerns about the freedom of religion or belief and the treatment of minority religious communities with our international partners, including the Government of Pakistan.We have raised our concerns with the Government of Thailand over the detention of foreign nationals, including nationals of Pakistan. The Minister of State for the Commonwealth and UN, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed our concerns in a telephone call with the Thai Ambassador on 2 November. We believe that the recent actions of the Thai authorities are not aimed at any specific group or groups but apply to anyone whom the Thai authorities deem an illegal visa over-stayer. We have urged Thailand to sign the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees.

China: Religious Freedom

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken taken to promote (a) religious freedoms and (b) the ability to evangelise in China.

Mark Field: We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We believe that societies which aim to guarantee freedom of religion or belief are more stable, prosperous and more resilient against violent extremism.We raise the full range of our human rights concerns with the Chinese authorities. We recently raised our concerns over restriction of freedom of religion or belief with the Chinese Government in our 27 June 2018 statement at the UN Human Rights Council and during China’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in November 2018.We also highlighted our concerns in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy. The report contains details of work the FCO has carried out during the past year to promote human rights, including freedom of religion or belief in China and globally.

Turkey: Islam

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Turkish counterpart on the effect on non-Muslims of the rapid incorporation of Islam into that country's education system.

Sir Alan Duncan: Religious education is compulsory in Turkey's education curriculum and generally amounts to around two hours a week. Christian and Jewish children can apply for exemption from these classes. We have discussed freedom of religion issues with the Turkish authorities and are in dialogue with minority religious communities in Turkey.

Philippines: Human Rights and Religious Freedom

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Government of the Philippines on that country's promotion of respect for human rights and religious freedoms.

Mark Field: ​The UK is committed to the promotion of human rights, including freedom of religion and belief. Whilst we have not had specific discussions with the Philippine Government on religious freedoms, we have regular discussions on human rights, including our concerns about the conduct of the "war on drugs" and the situation of human rights defenders. My officials most recently met with their Philippine counterparts at the UK/Philippines High Level talks that took place on 19th November, where these issues were raised. I also raised our human rights concerns with Philippine government figures during my visit to Manila in August.

China: British Nationals Abroad

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on the safety of British Christians resident in China to practice their religion in that country.

Mark Field: We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We believe that societies which aim to guarantee freedom of religion or belief are more stable, prosperous and more resilient against violent extremism.We raise the full range of our human rights concerns with the Chinese authorities. We recently raised our concerns over restriction of freedom of religion or belief with the Chinese Government in our 27 June 2018 statement at the UN Human Rights Council and during China’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in November 2018.We also highlighted our concerns in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy. The report contains details of work the FCO has carried out during the past year to promote human rights, including freedom of religion or belief in China and globally.All British nationals travelling and living in China should pay close attention to the FCO Travel Advice in the first instance. Christians with non-Chinese passports who wish to worship in China are granted the freedom to do so, but under certain conditions which include a ban on evangelism and to only worship with other foreign passport holders. We continue to monitor these restrictions.

Interserve

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has received representations from the the Crown Commercial Service on the financial health of the strategic supplier Interserve.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office maintains an ongoing dialogue with the Cabinet Office, including the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), in relation to the ongoing management of all major suppliers, including Interserve, accessed through CCS frameworks.As set out in the Strategic Supplier Risk Management Policy, supplier risk ratings are not published by Government but are made available by the Cabinet Office to in scope organisations on request.​

Libya: Shipping

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the safety in accordance with International Maritime Law of Libya as a port of disembarkation.

Alistair Burt: ​The British Government continues to raise the issue of migration with the Libyan authorities. This includes lobbying for compliance with International Maritime Law.

Mediterranean Sea: Rescue Services

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to tackle the criminalisation of humanitarian assistance to migrants as evidenced by the recent seizure of the migrant rescue vessel Aquarius; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK Government is aware of the seizure of the Marine Vessel Aquarius by the Italian authorities on grounds of waste pollution. The vessel operated as a Search and Rescue vessel in the central Mediterranean by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) 'SOS Méditerranée' and 'Médicins Sans Frontières' until September 2018. This matter is now subject to Italian legal processes and it is not appropriate for the UK Government to comment. We recognise the importance of Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean and value the contribution of NGOs in saving lives at sea. We are concerned about the increasing fatality rate that has coincided with the effective cessation of the Search and Rescue operations in the central Mediterranean due to the lack of assurances over safe disembarkation arrangements. We will continue to be involved with efforts to find a solution.

Libya: Human Rights

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to ensure that the funding allocated from the public purse to (a) Libyan detention centres and (b) training the Libyan coastguard does not contribute to human rights violations.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK does not fund the operation of Libyan detention centres. Our humanitarian support is carefully targeted to address the worst aspects of the detention centres in Libya, protect migrants' human rights and improve conditions. This includes providing essential relief items and medical consultations, and improving facilities. All of our work is underpinned throughout by the 'do-no-harm' principle, with various checks in place to consider possible risks to vulnerable migrants, and to ensure human rights compliance.UK support for the Libyan Coastguard aims to increase Libya's ability to secure its own maritime borders in a human rights compliant way, with a focus on rescue activities and disrupting people smuggling. We expect all vessels to operate in accordance with International Maritime Law, including the exercise of restraint in the use of force, and adherence to established human rights norms.

Libya: Detainees

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government's policy is on the detention of refugees and migrants in Libya.

Alistair Burt: ​The Government's aim is for migration to be safe, legal and well managed. We remain concerned by the conditions faced by migrants in Libyan detention centres and have consistently raised this issue with the Libyan Authorities. The UK continues to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable refugees and migrants in detention centres, where possible to do so. We are also working with the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa on initiatives to improve conditions in these centres.These efforts are part of a wider approach to migration that includes providing up to £5 million of funding for UN agencies and non-governmental organisations, supporting assisted voluntary returns, tackling people smuggling and encouraging economic development in source countries.

Press Freedom

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterparts in other countries on protecting press freedom.

Mark Field: The UK is strongly committed to the promotion of media freedom and the protection of journalists. We are concerned at how many countries are increasingly using restrictive laws to stifle freedom of expression and prevent the function of an independent media. The Forreign Secretary and other Ministers at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have raised, and will continue to raise, the safety of journalists and media freedom in bilateral exchanges and visits. We most recently did so with counterparts over incidents in the Middle East, Africa and Asia in November 2018. The UK will host an international conference in 2019 in London on media freedom, aimed at mobilising a stronger consensus behind the protection of journalists.

Mediterranean Sea: Rescue Services

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government provides to search and rescue operations in the central Mediterranean provided by NGOs.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK Government does not support search and rescue operations in the central Mediterranean led by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), however, we do support a range of other NGO-provided services to migrants. We value the contribution of NGOs to Search and Rescue in the central Mediterranean and are concerned about the increasing fatality rate that has coincided with the effective cessation of Search and Rescue operations, due to lack of assurances over safe disembarkation. UK Government officials have an ongoing dialogue with the NGOs and the UK continues to work with our international partners to seek solutions to the ongoing impasse over search and rescue in the Central Mediterranean.

Mediterranean Sea: Rescue Services

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the provision of support for NGO search and rescue ships in the Mediterranean.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK Government has not held such specific discussions. We continue to engage with EU partners in pursuit of predictable mechanisms for the disembarkation of rescued migrants at a nearby port of safety. In addition, we have continuing dialogue with the relevant Non-Government Organisations.

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic support he is providing to the Government of Sri Lanka during the current constitutional situation.

Mark Field: ​I issued statements on 26 and 29 October, and on 9 November, setting out our concerns at recent political developments in Sri Lanka and calling for due political process to be upheld. It is vital that all sides refrain from violence and make efforts to resolve the situation peacefully and as soon as possible. Our High Commissioner to Sri Lanka continues to meet regularly with all political parties, and has expressed our concern at the behaviour of some MPs in disrupting Parliamentary proceedings. We have stressed the importance of MPs allowing Parliament to do its job.I last visited Sri Lanka in October, before the current crisis, where I met Foreign Minister Marapana and other Ministers. We discussed the range of our bilateral interests and I urged more progress on human rights and reconciliation. I also met the leader of the Tamil National Alliance, as well as human rights and civil society activists. I have continued to urge the Sri Lankan government to fully implement its commitments to the UN Human Rights Council. I plan to visit Sri Lanka in 2019.I have received regular representations from the Tamil community on a range of their interests and concerns. I last met with the APPG for Tamil's including some representatives from the Tamil community on 3 December to discuss the current political situation. Foreign Office staff also regularly meet with Tamil representatives, both in Sri Lanka and the UK.

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Prime Minster has last held a conversation with the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on the political situation in that country.

Mark Field: The Prime Minister most recently wrote to President Sirisena ahead of the Commonwealth Summit earlier this year, on issues including human rights and community relations in Sri Lanka.I issued statements on 26 and 29 October, and on 9 November, setting out our concerns at recent political developments in Sri Lanka and calling for due political process to be upheld. It is vital that all sides refrain from violence and make efforts to resolve the situation peacefully and as soon as possible. Our High Commissioner to Sri Lanka continues to meet regularly with all political parties, and has expressed our concern at the behaviour of some MPs in disrupting Parliamentary proceedings. We have stressed the importance of MPs allowing Parliament to do its job.I last visited Sri Lanka in October, before the current crisis, where I met Foreign Minister Marapana and other Ministers. We discussed the range of our bilateral interests and I urged more progress on human rights and reconciliation. I also met the leader of the Tamil National Alliance, as well as human rights and civil society activists. I have continued to urge the Sri Lankan government to fully implement its commitments to the UN Human Rights Council. I plan to visit Sri Lanka in 2019.I have received regular representations from the Tamil community on a range of their interests and concerns. I last met with the APPG for Tamil's including some representatives from the Tamil community on 3 December to discuss the current political situation. Foreign Office staff also regularly meet with Tamil representatives, both in Sri Lanka and the UK.

Northern Ireland Office

Fisheries: Northern Ireland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the fishing industry in Northern Ireland on access to UK fishing waters after the UK leaves the EU.

John Penrose: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland regularly meets representatives from across a wide range of industries in Northern Ireland.

Department of Health and Social Care

General Practitioners: Attendance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of patients had access to evening and weekend GP appointments at (a) March 2018 and (b) October 2018.

Steve Brine: Holding answer received on 28 November 2018



The Government has committed to ensuring that everyone can see their general practitioner at a convenient time by increasing the availability of routine appointments in general practice in the evening and at the weekend. By March 2019, all clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) should provide extended access to general practice for the whole of their registered population, subject to local demand. This includes ensuring that access is available during peak times of demand, including bank holidays and across the Easter, Christmas and New Year periods. This deadline was brought forward to 1 October 2018 in the latest National Health Service planning guidance, which was published by NHS England in February 2018, to ensure additional capacity is in place ahead of winter 2018. The delivery of the commitment is assessed in two ways, which use different measures of extended access. The first measure relies on NHS England’s bi-annual survey of extended access, which collects data direct from general practices. This showed that, in September 2018, full extended access was available to 30.8 million registered patients, comprising 55.3% of all registered patients in England. This represents widening of coverage since March 2018, when the previous bi-annual survey found that full extended access was available to 22.6 million, or (39.7%) registered patients. The next bi-annual survey, to be published in April 2019, will show the extent of coverage in March 2019. The second measure uses the General Practice Forward View Monitoring Survey, which is a monthly return from CCGs that covers all extended access provision, including that delivered via extended access hubs. The results are published via the CCG Improvement and Assessment Framework. The latest data show that, in August 2018, full extended access was available to 40 million registered patients comprising 68% of the registered patient population. This also represents a widening of access relative to March 2018, when full extended access was available to 35.4 million registered patients, comprising 61% of the registered patient population. Data for September and October 2018 are not yet available.

Radiology: Vacancies

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent information he holds on staff shortages within the discipline of radiology; what estimate he has made of the number of vacancies for trained and experienced breast radiology staff; what recent discussions he has had with NHS leaders on the number of patients requiring breast imaging for the investigation of a lump who are told to return at a later date due to staff shortages; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Department does not hold the information requested on the number of vacancies within the discipline of radiology and trained and experienced breast radiology staff.Health Education England (HEE) published its first ever Cancer Workforce Plan in December 2017, which commits to the expansion of capacity and skills including an ambition to increase improved working practices, attracting qualified people back to the National Health Service through domestic and international recruitment. This will include 668 more, full time equivalent, clinical radiologists and investing in 300 reporting radiographers by 2021 to support an increase in the capacity for earlier diagnosis.HEE intends to follow the plan later this year with a longer-term strategy that looks at the workforce needs beyond 2021. This will include exploring sustainable growth beyond 2021 in key professions through continued investment in training places, with a greater focus on attracting and retaining students and improving the numbers of qualified professionals who go on to work in the NHS.Ministers meet with NHS leaders, including the National Cancer Director, and Health Education England on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues, including how we can assure that the NHS has the workforce it needs to ensure that cancer patients have fast access to diagnostic services.

Ocrelizumab

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) negotiations between Roche pharmaceuticals and NHS England on access to ocrelizumab for people with early primary progressive MS proceed immediately and (b) a new agreement is reached between those two parties.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on the use of ocrelizumab for the treatment of primary progressive multiple sclerosis. NHS England is in discussions with Roche, the manufacturer of ocrelizumab, to seek to agree a commercial agreement that might enable NICE to recommend use of the drug. Those discussions are rightly for NHS England and Roche and it would not be appropriate for Ministers to intervene.

Fampridine

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that fampridine is available to people with multiple sclerosis.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people accessing fampridine through (a) private prescriptions and (b) individual funding requests in (i) Oxfordshire and (ii) England.

Steve Brine: NHS England published its policy on Fampridine in July 2016. This states that this is not routinely commissioned for multiple sclerosis (MS). This policy is based on the recommendations from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the publication 'Multiple sclerosis: management of multiple sclerosis in primary and secondary care (CG186)’ which recommends that fampridine is not used for MS as it is not a cost-effective option. The NHS Business Services Authority only collects prescribing data on private prescriptions where the drug prescribed is a controlled drug. Fampridine is not classified as a controlled drug, so the information requested is not collected. Since 1 April 2013, the NHS England Individual Funding Request (IFR) team has received 21 applications for Fampridine for multiple sclerosis (including Amifampridine/Firdapse; Fampridine/Fampyra; Fampridine SR/Fampyra). None of the applications were approved. It is not possible to distinguish IFR requests specifically from Oxfordshire.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much additional funding announced in Budget 2018 has been allocated to the prevention of Type 2 diabetes.

Steve Brine: The 2018 Budget re-confirms the Prime Minister’s announcement in June this year to work with the National Health Service to develop a 10-year plan for the future of the health service, underpinned by a five-year funding offer which will see the NHS budget grow by £20.5 billion a year in real terms by 2023-24. We expect the plan to be published later this year.

Social Services

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the Green Paper on adult social care.

Caroline Dinenage: An ageing society means that we need to reach a longer-term sustainable settlement for social care. This is why the Government has committed to publishing a Green Paper later this year setting out its proposals for reform.

Multiple Sclerosis: Nurses

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many specialist multiple sclerosis nurses are employed in (a) NHS England and (b) Trafford.

Stephen Hammond: NHS England does not employ specialist multiple sclerosis nurses. The Department does not hold the information requested as to how many specialist multiple sclerosis nurses are employed in Trafford. NHS Digital provides information on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in the National Health Service in England but it does not separately identify specialist nurses such as multiple sclerosis nurses.

Multiple Sclerosis: Trafford

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people living with multiple sclerosis in Trafford who are eligible for a disease-modifying treatment are accessing one.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in Trafford have been diagnosed with a progressive form of multiple sclerosis.

Steve Brine: This information is not available.

Ocrelizumab

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis in (a) England and (b) Trafford who will be eligible for treatment using ocrelizumab in the event that that drug becomes available on the NHS.

Steve Brine: The information is not held centrally.

Gender Recognition: Waiting Lists

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for a first appointment following referral to the Gender Identity Development Service (a) in Leeds and (b) at the Tavistock Centre for children in each age group in each of the last three years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This information is not available in the format requested.

Gender Recognition: Young People

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of transition arrangements for young people moving from the gender identity development service to adult services; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Gender Identity Development Service has transition leads who regularly liaise with adult gender services to facilitate a seamless transition for young people transferring to adult services.

Gender Recognition: Children and Young People

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance is provided to clinical commissioning groups on preserving the fertility of children and young people who undergo treatment for gender dysphoria.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Clinical commissioning groups have responsibility to plan and commission fertility services in their local area. Gender Identity Development Services provide a range of educational information to young people and their general practitioners, including educational days, to aid decision making in this regard which also ensures informed consent is obtained before any medical treatment.

Electronic Cigarettes

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions and meetings the Government has had with the (a) tobacco and (b) vaping industries on e-cigarette regulation and policy in the last three years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: The Department has held discussions and meetings with the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA), who is independent of the tobacco industry, over the past three years. I also met the IBVTA on 12 March 2018 to discuss United Kingdom vaping and regulations. The Department does not collect data on discussions with the vaping industry from other Government Departments.

Electronic Cigarettes

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government plans to publish its Command Paper in response to the Science and Technology Committee's Seventh Report of Session 2017-19 on E-cigarettes, HC 505; and whether it has taken steps to implement the report’s recommendations.

Steve Brine: The Government will respond to the report shortly.

Gender Recognition: Children and Young People

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what training is provided for social work (a) students and (b) practitioners on gender dysphoria in children and young people.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) is a highly specialist multidisciplinary team comprising specialist social workers, family therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, paediatric and adolescent endocrinologists and clinical nurse practitioners. In addition to the training undertaken to qualify into these positions, all members of the GIDS team receive specialised training for work with children and adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria from the service, as well as regular and ongoing supervision. The training required to work in the GIDS is different to that required by social workers employed locally in other teams. GIDS provides continuous professional development events which are attended by social workers working in local communities.

Carers

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his department has had with NHS England on improving the support available to unpaid carers in the NHS Long Term Plan.

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS Long Term Plan is planned to include to ensure unpaid carers are (a) identified and (b) offered support.

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the NHS Long Term Plan on the health outcomes for unpaid carers.

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to extend the provision of support for NHS staff who have unpaid caring responsibilities outside work; and whether that provision will be a core part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government is committed to supporting carers to provide care as they would wish, and to do so in a way that supports their own health and wellbeing, employment, and other life chances. The Long Term Plan is currently in development and the content of the plan is yet to be finalised. It is due to be published later this year. The Government expects National Health Service leaders, clinicians and experts to develop the long-term plan to ensure that the NHS can cope with the serious demand and cost pressures it faces in the future. In addition, we set out our commitments to supporting carers in the short-term through the Carers Action Plan, published in June. The Plan includes commitments from across Government and the NHS. For example, NHS England and the CQC are working together to develop quality standards for general practitioner surgeries to demonstrate how effective they are in identifying and supporting carers. In addition, the Government is considering the question of dedicated employment rights for carers to help them to be better able to juggle their work and caring responsibilities. We recognise that there is still more to do and that is why the forthcoming Adult Social Care Green Paper will include a focus on how society supports carers as a vital part of a sustainable health and social care system so that they are properly valued, recognised and supported to provide care in a way that supports their own health and wellbeing. We will continue to work with NHS England to ensure that carers receive support across the health and social care system.

Fast Food: Schools

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government on restricting the number of fast food restaurants near schools.

Steve Brine: There are ongoing discussions between officials in the Department and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on restricting the number of hot food takeaways near schools, including formal monthly and quarterly meetings as part of the governance of the childhood obesity programme.

Nutrition: Health Education

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Department of Education to improve healthy eating education.

Steve Brine: There are ongoing discussions between officials in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education to consider a range of areas including healthy eating education. These include formal monthly and quarterly meetings as part of the governance of the childhood obesity programme.

Obesity

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the economic effect on the UK food industry of proposed Public Health England measures to reduce the size of food products by 20 per cent.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on consumer health of reducing the size of food products by 20 per cent.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) has not made an assessment of the economic effect on the United Kingdom food industry of proposed measures to reduce the calorie content of food products by 20%. An assessment was, however, made through modelling to estimate the potential health economic benefits of a calorie reduction programme at a population level. A 20% reduction in calories from everyday foods that contribute to population intake, if achieved over five years, would prevent 35,370 premature deaths, save the National Health Service £4.5 billion in healthcare costs and save social care costs of around £4.48 billion, over a 25 year period. This was included in PHE’s report published in March 2018 ‘Calorie reduction: The scope and ambition for action’, which can be accessed at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/685359/Calorie_reduction_The_scope_and_ambition_for_action.pdf

Obesity

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government plans to take in relation to food products that do not meet forthcoming Public Health England guidelines on calories.

Steve Brine: Public Health England will monitor progress on the calorie reduction programme and produce detailed reports annually from 2020. We will use this to determine whether sufficient progress has been made and whether alternative levers need to be considered.

Mental Illness

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to discuss mental health issues.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This Government is committed to eliminating the stigma around mental health and has provided a total of £20 million funding since 2012 for the Time to Change national mental health anti-stigma campaign. Time to Change works with people with experience of mental health problems to challenge stigma and to improve social attitudes towards mental health. Encouraging people to talk openly about mental health is an important part of achieving this and Time to Change holds regular annual Time to Talk Days which encourage people to have a conversation about mental health. The evaluation of Time to Change shows that over four million people to date have reported improved attitudes towards mental health because of the campaign. Public Health England is currently delivering a £15 million national mental health campaign called ‘Every Mind Matters’, with the aim to equip one million people to be better informed to look after their own mental health. This campaign was launched in October 2018 with a national rollout planned for spring 2019.

Diabetes: Young People

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent young people from developing type 2 diabetes as a result of a bad diet.

Steve Brine: We published the second chapter of our world-leading childhood obesity plan in June. This builds on the real progress we have made since the publication of chapter one in 2016, particularly in reformulation of the products our children eat and drink most. Key measurers in this next chapter include consulting on restricting promotions of fatty and sugary products by location and by price, further advertising restrictions and mandating calorie labelling in restaurants.

Drugs

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure life-saving medicines are available in the event of supply chain disruption as a result of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Stephen Hammond: The Government has agreed the terms of our exit from the European Union, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement. The Withdrawal Agreement offers a time-limited implementation period that provides a bridge to the future relationship, allowing business, including the life sciences industry, to continue trading as now until the end of 2020. The supply of medicines and medical supplies would remain unchanged during the implementation period. As a responsible Government, however, we continue to prepare proportionately for all scenarios, including the unlikely outcome that we leave the EU without any deal in March 2019. On 23 August 2018, the Department wrote to pharmaceutical companies that supply the United Kingdom with pharmacy or prescription-only medicines, including non-national programme vaccines, from, or via, the EU/European Economic Area, asking them to ensure they have a minimum of six weeks’ additional supply in the UK, over and above their business as usual operational buffer stocks, by 29 March 2019 in the event of a no deal EU exit. Since then we have received very good engagement from industry who share our aims of ensuring continuity of medicines supply for patients is maintained and able to cope with any potential delays at the border that may arise in the short term in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The Department does not expect to see significant changes to existing medicine supply chains or capacity in the intervening period, however we will be monitoring this closely. There is already a team within the Department that deal with medicine supply shortages arising both in the community and in hospitals. We have well established operational levers and channels we use between ourselves and the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency or the National Health Service to mitigate supply issues.

Drugs

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of stock-piling medicines ahead of the end of March 2019 for (a) the NHS and his Department and (b) the pharmaceuticals sector.

Stephen Hammond: The Government has agreed the terms of our exit from the European Union, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement. The Withdrawal Agreement offers a time-limited implementation period that provides a bridge to the future relationship, allowing business, including the life sciences industry, to continue trading as now until the end of 2020. The supply of medicines and medical supplies would remain unchanged during the implementation period. As a responsible Government, however, we continue to prepare proportionately for all scenarios, including the unlikely outcome that we leave the EU without any deal in March 2019. On 23 August 2018, the Department wrote to pharmaceutical companies that supply prescription-only and pharmacy medicines for National Health Service patients from, or via, the EU or European Economic Area asking them, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, to ensure they have a minimum of six weeks additional supply in the United Kingdom, over and above their business as usual operational buffer stocks, by 29 March 2019. Our contingency plan relies on stockpiling at the supplier or pre-wholesaler level. It could undermine the plan if the NHS stockpiles at the local level that could lead to shortages before 29 March 2019. Therefore, on the same day, the Department wrote a separate letter to the NHS informing them of the contingency plans with industry and stressing the need for frontline services to maintain existing practices, and that hospitals, general practitioners and community pharmacies throughout the UK do not need to take any steps to stockpile additional medicines, beyond their business-as-usual stock levels, nor do clinicians need to write longer NHS prescriptions. To date the only costs which the Government has agreed to incur relate to the provision of additional warehouse space to store stockpiled medicines and are in the low tens of millions pounds.

Drugs

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which medicines his Department has advised the health sector to stockpile before March 2019.

Stephen Hammond: The Government has agreed the terms of our exit from the European Union, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement. The Withdrawal Agreement offers a time-limited implementation period that provides a bridge to the future relationship, allowing business, including the life sciences industry, to continue trading as now until the end of 2020. The supply of medicines and medical supplies would remain unchanged during the implementation period. As a responsible Government, however, we continue to prepare proportionately for all scenarios, including the unlikely outcome that we leave the EU without any deal in March 2019. On 23 August 2018, the Department wrote to pharmaceutical companies that supply prescription-only and pharmacy medicines from, or via, the EU or European Economic Area asking them, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, to ensure they have a minimum of six weeks additional supply in the United Kingdom, over and above their business as usual operational buffer stocks, by 29 March 2019.

Special Educational Needs

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help health and social care providers to identify the special education needs of children in schools.

Caroline Dinenage: The Children and Families Act 2014 requires that clinical commissioning groups must work with local authorities in joint arrangements to support children and young people with special educational needs. Since May 2016, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the inspector of health services, has joined with Ofsted in inspecting local areas on their effectiveness in fulfilling this joint commissioning duty, in addition to their role in inspecting health provision. All 152 local areas in England will be inspected over a period of five years, with written statements of action required where improvement is needed. Ofsted and the CQC have recently announced they will be revisiting all areas which had a written statement of action to ensure that necessary improvements have been made. In July 2018, NHS England published ‘Guidance for health services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)’ developed with the Department, intended to help health commissioners and providers tackle the challenges involved in implementing joint commissioning of services for children and young people with special educational needs, including how to participate in education, health and care assessment and planning. In September 2018 the Department announced that we would be consulting on proposals for mandatory learning disability training for all health and care staff, which would include the needs of all age groups.

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome: Children

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of specialised services for children with Postural tachycardia syndrome; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Ministers decide which specialised services should be commissioned on a national basis by NHS England and take advice from the Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) when making these decisions. Services for postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) were considered for national commissioning by PSSAG but, following consultation with the Royal College of Physicians, Association of British Neurologists, the British Cardiovascular Society and the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists, they did not feel able to recommend it to Ministers for national commissioning. As the range of symptoms and the severity of PoTS varies significantly, several patients with PoTS will be accessing some services commissioned on a national basis, such as neurosciences.

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support people with pulmonary hypertension.

Steve Brine: NHS England commissions a national Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) service with six adult centres and one children’s service. The services are required to meet the standards set out in the national service specifications which describe the teams and service are organised, including shared care arrangements. These clinical teams support patients through diagnosis, treatment and ongoing care. These policies are on the NHS England website at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-a/a01/ NHS England as a commissioner sets the model of service it expects hospitals to deliver for specialised PAH services. This is monitored through contractual processes. This states for PAH that as well as medical expertise other support, including nurse specialists, supportive care, shared care arrangements and palliative care will be available. If more detail is required on specific types of support that is provided, this would need to be sought from hospitals or from clinical commissioning groups as commissioners of non-specialised parts of the pathway

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department provides to support medical research into pulmonary hypertension.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including pulmonary hypertension. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications for funding are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Over the five financial years from 2013/14 to 2017/18 NIHR spent a total of £11.5 million on research into pulmonary hypertension. This includes direct funding for four research projects into this condition, and further support through clinical research networks for 60 studies which recruited 7,235 research participants.

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time for a diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension was in the last year for which data is available.

Steve Brine: NHS England commissions the National Audit of Pulmonary Hypertension (NAPH), which measures the quality of care provided to people referred to Pulmonary Hypertension services in England, including patients referred from Wales, and Scotland. According to the recently published NAPH ninth annual report, in 2017/18, 98% of new patients continue to be diagnosed within six months of referral, against a target of 95%. This is the same as the figure for 2016/17.

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what treatments are available on the NHS for pulmonary hypertension; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of those treatments.

Steve Brine: A number of treatments are available for pulmonary hypertension (PH). If PH is caused by another condition, such as a heart or lung problem, treatments will focus on the underlying condition. The full range of treatments for PH is detailed on the NHS website at the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pulmonary-hypertension/treatment/ NHS England commissions specialised PH services through the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group (CRG), which are available to all patients whose care is overseen by a specialist pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) centre in England. The policies regarding these specialised services are published on the NHS England Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group website at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-a/a01/

Nusinersen

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with NICE on its appraised criteria to facilitate progress towards a Managed Access Arrangement for Spinraza.

Steve Brine: Departmental officials have had a number of discussions with colleagues in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to enquire about progress of the ongoing appraisal of nusinersen (Spinraza) for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy. Discussions between NHS England, NICE and Biogen (the company that manufactures nusinersen) are ongoing to seek to agree a commercial agreement that would enable NICE to recommend use of nusinersen as a clinically and cost effective use of National Health Service resources.

General Practitioners: ICT

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) raise awareness about and (b) encourage the use of GP online services.

Steve Brine: General practitioner (GP) online services is an NHS England programme designed to support GP practices to offer and promote online services to patients, including access to coded information in records, appointment booking and ordering of repeat prescriptions. NHS England works nationally with GPs, clinical commissioning groups, sustainability and transformation partnerships and Integrated Care Systems to drive awareness and uptake. 98.5% of GP practices are able to offer patients access to online services with over 15 million people (26% of the population) making use of these services to manage their health online. From 2019, the NHS App will enable citizens to access a range of services including booking appointments to see a GP or nurse on their mobile devices providing greater choice over how they access and interact with healthcare services.

Paediatrics: Doctors

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time equivalent doctors worked in paediatrics in England in each year since 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers. The following table shows the full time equivalent figures for the number of doctors in the paediatric speciality group as at 30 September each year since 2009 and the latest data available.  Doctors in the paediatric group20097,24820107,35320117,45120127,62820137,76820147,96320157,98320168,09720178,37031 August 20188,391Source: NHS HCHS monthly workforce statistics, NHS Digital

Palliative Care: Children

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2018 to Question 189538 on Palliative Care: Children, what processes (a) NHS England and (b) his Department have in place to assess the level of collaboration between the relevant authorities and organisations.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS England and the Department do not currently have any processes for measuring or monitoring collaboration between services involved in delivering children’s palliative care. NHS England and the Department would expect all the partners involved to be regularly talking to, and working with, relevant organisations, given their remit to identify overall local need and to join up services. As with the vast majority of NHS services, the funding and commissioning of palliative and end of life care is a local matter over which individual National Health Service commissioners have responsibility. Local commissioners are best placed to understand the needs of local populations and commission services to meet those needs accordingly. The only exception to this are small numbers of specialist paediatric palliative care inpatient services, commissioned nationally by NHS England from eight centres across England as part of its remit to deliver specialised services. To support effective service collaboration locally, NHS England has worked with Public Health England and the Care Quality Commission to provide bespoke end of life care data and support packs to sustainability and transformation partnerships to plan for, and improve, end of life care services.

Speech Therapy: Mental Health Services

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many speech and language therapists are employed in (a) children and young people’s NHS mental health services and (b) adult NHS mental health services.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department does not hold the information requested.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average number of attendances seen per day was in A&E Departments at NHS hospitals in England in 2018.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many A&E units in NHS hospitals in England attend to more than the national average number of patients per day.

Stephen Hammond: The information is not available in the format requested. Data on accident and emergency attendances is broken down by hospital trust rather than by individual hospital.

Bisphosphonates

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress NICE has made in updating its guidance on the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates.

Steve Brine: Holding answer received on 04 December 2018



The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated its guidance on ‘Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and management’ in July 2018. The use of adjuvant bisphosphonates was one of the key areas that was covered in the update. NICE’s updated recommendations can be found at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng101/chapter/Recommendations#bisphosphonate-therapy The guideline recommends bisphosphonates as adjuvant therapy for postmenopausal women with node positive invasive breast cancer and for postmenopausal women with node negative breast cancer. NICE also updated its guidance on the use of bisphosphonates for treating osteoporosis in February 2018. The updated guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta464 NICE recommends oral bisphosphonates for treating osteoporosis in adults if the person is eligible for risk assessment and the 10 year probability of osteoporotic fragility fracture is at least 1%.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) trends in the level of use of pre-exposure prophylaxis to reduce HIV infections.

Steve Brine: Holding answer received on 04 December 2018



Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV has been shown to be an effective intervention to reduce the risk of HIV infection. A randomised controlled trial of PrEP in the United Kingdom found an 86% reduction in the risk of HIV infection in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men prescribed PrEP. A finding supported by data from New South Wales in Australia where a rapid decline in HIV diagnoses was seen in the 12 months following the introduction of PrEP. With the development of internet self-purchasing in 2015, PrEP use in England is thought to have quadrupled during 2016 so that an estimated 3,000 gay and bisexual men were taking PrEP by year end. It is probable that this scale-up of PrEP use will have had an effect at reducing underlying HIV incidence, additional to the effect of intensified HIV testing and the immediate treatment of those newly diagnosed as living with HIV. However, it is too soon to estimate the size of this additional effect from available data. The HIV PrEP Impact trial funded by NHS England began in October 2017 to understand questions on PrEP eligibility, uptake and duration of use, and impact on HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Prescriptions: Universal Credit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to update the form used to obtain free prescriptions to include an option for universal credit.

Steve Brine: Holding answer received on 04 December 2018



Work is ongoing to update the FP10 prescription form to include a new exemption tick box for use by Universal Credit claimants who meet the criteria for free National Health Service prescriptions.

Prescriptions: Universal Credit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the number of prescription fines issued in universal credit and legacy benefit areas.

Steve Brine: Holding answer received on 04 December 2018



Universal Credit and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants, who are eligible for free National Health Service prescriptions, are both ticking exemption box K on the FP10 prescription form at present. Therefore, the NHS Business Services Authority does not have a data split that would enable such a comparative assessment to be made.

Prescriptions: Universal Credit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has provided to (a) GP surgeries and (b) pharmacies on the use of prescription forms that do not include a tick box for universal credit.

Steve Brine: Holding answer received on 04 December 2018



Completion of the FP10 prescription form, including any declaration of exemption from paying prescription charges, is the responsibility of the patient. Universal Credit claimants who meet the criteria for free National Health Service prescriptions, should tick box K for income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance on the patient declaration until the prescription form is updated to include a tick box for Universal Credit. Advice on this matter is available on the websites for the NHS Business Services Authority and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and accessible to dispensing doctors and pharmacists.

Vaccination: Take-up

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect of anti-vaccination groups on vaccination take-up.

Steve Brine: Holding answer received on 04 December 2018



The United Kingdom has one of the most comprehensive vaccination programmes in Europe with high uptake. Parental confidence in the immunisation programme is monitored through annual surveys. In 2018, 93% of parents in England expressed confidence in the programme. The vast majority of parents believed immunisations to be safe and effective and have their children immunised when due.

Palliative Care: Children and Young People

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department’s mandate to Health Education England will specify the need for a health and care workforce which can meet the end of life care choice commitment for babies, children and young people.

Caroline Dinenage: Developing staff to fulfil the end of life choice commitment for children and adults has been included with the Government’s mandates to Health Education England since 2014/15 and we expect that will remain the case for 2018/19.

Zoledronic Acid

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that there is equality geographically in the availability of Zoledronic acid for breast cancer treatment.

Steve Brine: Decisions on the routine availability of medicines, such as Zoledronic acid, are made locally by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). CCGs make funding decisions based on the needs of their population. Commissioning is about getting the best possible health outcomes for the local population and this involves assessing local needs to inform priorities and strategies. Under their terms of service, clinicians are allowed to prescribe any product which they consider to be a medicine necessary for the treatment of their patients under the National Health Service, subject to two provisos: firstly, that the product is not included in Schedules 1 or 2 to the NHS (General Medical Services Contracts)(Prescription of Drugs etc.) Regulations 2004 and secondly, that the clinician is prepared to justify any challenges to their prescribing by their local CCG. Decisions on whether to routinely fund medicines should be taken in the context of the CCGs available resources to ensure that care is fairly allocated to all patients and, where appropriate, measured against the CCGs other service development priorities.

Diabetes

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans for blood glucose testing strips and needles to remain available by prescription.

Steve Brine: This is a matter for NHS England, working in partnership with NHS Clinical Commissioners to support clinical commissioning groups to use their prescribing resources effectively in the interests of their local population. NHS England has launched a public consultation on proposals to update and review commissioning guidance on eight products, which includes blood glucose testing strips for type 2 diabetes and needles for pre-filled and re-useable insulin pens. The consultation runs from 28 November 2018 until 28 February 2019. Details of how to respond and attend the public consultation events can be found at the following link: https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/items-routinely-prescribed-update/

Zholia Alemi

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, further to WPQ 195560, by what method of communication patients or family members who have a concern about contact with Zholia Alemi or the care received by her have been advised to contact the local NHS service where they were treated.

Stephen Hammond: The General Medical Council (GMC) has provided on its website information for patients who are concerned about contact with Zholia Alemi. Patients and family members are advised to speak to the general practitioner surgery, hospital or clinic where they were treated. The GMC’s contact centre is available to people seeking further information.

Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish all meetings his Department has had with external stakeholders on the long-term plan for the the NHS.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish details of all the meetings he has chaired on the NHS Long Term Plan.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which meeting requests his Department has declined in relation to the NHS Long Term Plan in the last 12 months.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish details of the meetings he has held with private (a) health companies and (b) organisations in relation to the NHS Long Term Plan.

Stephen Hammond: All external meetings that Ministers have attended are published as part of the Department’s quarterly transparency returns which are available on the GOV.UK website at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-external-meetings-2017Ministers in the Department regularly meet with stakeholders to discuss a variety of issues. Information on meetings which have been declined could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Mental Health Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made on the Mental Health Safety Improvement Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of safety of core mental health services in mental health trusts as a result of the introduction of the Mental Health Safety Improvement programme.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Mental Health Safety Improvement Programme (MHSIP) was rolled out in April 2018 and is a two-year programme funded until March 2020.The overall aim of the programme is for every National Health Service trust providing core mental health services in England to have understood its safety priorities and have made a measurable improvement in at least one key area of mental health safety by 31 March 2020.From January 2019, MHSIP engagement meetings with trusts will align with the Care Quality Commission inspection cycle to ensure that there is a timely follow-up to the inspection findings.Given the nature of the programme, it is too early to provide trend analysis at this stage.

Social Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department took to offer financial assistance to providers of overnight social care to adults in advance of the judgment of Royal Mencap v Blake-Tomlinson in July 2018.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department continuously reviews the pressures facing the social care sector and works to ensure stability; not just for vulnerable service users, but also for the many thousands of low paid workers within the sector. Before the Court of Appeals judgment in Royal Mencap v Blake-Tomlinson the Government worked closely with stakeholders from the social care sector to ensure we had a clear understanding of the impact the sector could face due to historic liabilities for National Minimum Wage back pay. During this time the Government explored options to minimise any impact on the social care sector. At the Spring Budget 2017 the Government provided an additional £2 billion to councils for social care. The pressure arising from enforcement of National Minimum Wage for sleep-in shifts was one of the costs the Government took account of in deciding to provide this sum of additional funding.

Mental Health Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the (a) FTE workforce and (b) funded establishment for the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme in each of the last three years; and  how many (i) Low Intensity (Step 2) workers, (ii) High Intensity (Step 3) workers and (iii) two percent Employment Support workers were employed in that programme in each of the last three years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Information for relevant years is not available in the format requested.

Pancreatic Cancer

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the introduction of a target for patients with pancreatic cancer to receive treatment within 20 days of diagnosis.

Steve Brine: The Prime Minister announced the Government’s ambitions to see 55,000 more people surviving cancer for five years in England each year from 2028 and three quarters of all cancers detected at an early stage by 2028. To achieve these targets, we will need to make significant progress on survival across all cancers, including pancreatic cancer. NHS England will shortly be introducing a Faster Diagnostic Standard of 28 days for all cancer patients which, when taken together with the 62-day referral to treatment standard, will mean that all patients should expect to start their treatment within 34 days of diagnosis. This is a maximum, and trusts should continue to treat patients more quickly particularly where there is a strong clinical need.

Department of Health and Social Care: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings he had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 September and 30 November 2018.

Caroline Dinenage: Between 1 September and 30 November 2018 my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has had eight formal meetings the Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) Professor Chris Whitty, and the CSA has seven meetings with other Health Ministers.

Department for International Development

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to ensure that funding allocated by her Department from the public purse does not find its way into the hands of terrorists in the Palestinian Territories.

Alistair Burt: The UK has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and robustly controls against the diversion of aid. We have strong controls in place to monitor spending, including due diligence assessments, annual financial audits of project spending and regular field visits; all to ensure that UK aid reaches the intended beneficiaries. DFID complies with UK and international counter terrorism legislation and DFID funding agreements commit partners to understand and comply with international counter terrorism legislation.

Sudan: Radio

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government has funded Radio Dabanga in Sudan since its creation in December 2008.

Harriett Baldwin: The Department for International Development has not provided any funding for Radio Dabanga in Sudan since its creation in December 2008. It is largely funded by the Dutch government.

Bangladesh: Elections

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2018 to Question 190838, how much UK funding will be used to fund local observation of the upcoming general election in Bangladesh.

Alistair Burt: The UK is providing £542,703 through the Department for International Development (DFID) to a coalition of 23 Bangladeshi civil society organisations (Election Working Group) to observe the upcoming general election in Bangladesh. The grant is managed by The Asia Foundation and observers are all drawn from organisations with considerable experience in observing elections in Bangladesh. Combined with complementary support from USAID and the Swiss Development Cooperation, we will cover all constituencies and will deploy both short and long term observers.

Sri Lanka: Overseas Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Overseas Development Assistance has been allocated to Sri Lanka in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: Between 2012 and 2016 (the last year for which data is available) the UK provided a total of £176.3m in Overseas Development Assistant (ODA) to Sri Lanka. In 2012, the UK provided £23.5m, £33.3m in 2013, £33.6m in 2014, £49.9m 2015, and £35.9m in 2016.

Department for Education

Foster Care: Regulation

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to establish a regulatory body for foster agencies.

Nadhim Zahawi: Fostering is a devolved matter. All fostering agencies registered in England are subject to regulations relevant to the placement of children in foster care including the Fostering Services (England) Regulations (2011) and the Care Standards Act (2000). These regulations provide the legal framework for the conduct of fostering services and sit alongside the national minimum standards in fostering. Ofsted take this framework into account in the inspection of fostering services in England but has no remit in the devolved administrations.The department believes that the current system is robust and have no plans to introduce a separate regulatory body at this time.

Free School Meals: Cambridge

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) all children and (b) children eligible for free school meals reached a Good Level of Development at age five in Cambridge in each of the last three years.

Nadhim Zahawi: The requested data is shown in the attached table.



196280_Achievement_in_early_years_foundation_stage
(PDF Document, 36.01 KB)

Special Educational Needs

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) primary schools and (b) health and social care providers to identify the special education needs of children.

Nadhim Zahawi: The statutory Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) code of practice sets out high expectations of schools about how they identify and meet the special educational needs of their pupils.We have made clear through the Framework for Initial Teacher Training that it should equip trainees to identify the needs of all pupils and make provision for them, including seeking the advice of colleagues with specialist knowledge and experience. We are currently undertaking an audit of university-based and school-based providers of Initial Teacher Training which we will use to produce a best practice guide. The Department for Education (DfE) has contracted with the Whole School SEND consortium, led by the National Association for Special Educational Needs, to prove support to the SEND schools’ workforce. A key aim of the contract is to equip schools to identify and meet their training needs in relation to SEND. The Consortium has produced resources and training to enable schools to review their SEND provision, to ensure they can identify and meet the needs of pupils effectively. Additionally, DfE has funded a range of organisations to develop specialist resources and training to support teachers to identify and effectively meet the needs of pupils with autism; dyslexia and specific learning difficulties; speech, language and communication needs; sensory impairments and physical disabilities. All the materials funded by the department are hosted on the SEND Gateway, an online portal which offers education professionals free, easy access to high quality information, resources and training for identifying and meeting the needs of children with SEND. We also fund a consortium of partners, including the Council for Disabled Children, to work with health and social care services to identify and spread effective practice and to produce guidance which supports effective identification of need, joint commissioning and the improvement of education, health and care plans. We fund a SEND leadership programme and legal training for all local authorities and their health partners to ensure they are clear on their statutory responsibilities and we have introduced joint Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) SEND inspections of the effectiveness of services in identifying and meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND and improving their outcomes. These inspections began in 2016 and all 152 areas in England will be inspected by 2021. The inspections have identified a number of strengths around identification and we are working with partners, including NHS England, to spread effective practice and further embed the principles and practice from the reforms with health and social care providers. NHS England, DfE and the Department for Health and Social Care are also collaborating to engage local services where we identify concerns with performance. This includes providing support and challenge to local areas following their Ofsted/CQC SEND inspection.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to ensure that adequate funding is provided to ensure the sustainability of maintained nursery schools.

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department provides to children from state nursery schools that have closed to ensure that those children are able to access alternative nursery provision.

Nadhim Zahawi: Maintained nursery schools make a valuable contribution to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children. They also experience costs over and above those of other early years providers. That is why we are providing local authorities with around £60 million a year of supplementary funding, to enable them to protect maintained nursery schools’ funding at least until 2019-20. What happens after this will be determined by the next Spending Review, and informed by research we are carrying out on the value offered by maintained nursery schools.There is a presumption against the closure of maintained nursery schools. This does not mean that they will never close, but when they do, local authorities have a statutory requirement to ensure that alternative provision: is of at least equal quality; maintains expertise and specialism; and is more accessible and convenient for local parents.

Assessments: Fraud

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the provision of essay mill services.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the increase in essay mill services.

Anne Milton: The use of companies that sell bespoke essays to students who submit them as their own work undermines the reputation of the sector and devalues the hard work of those succeeding on their own merit. We are currently focussing on non-legislative options to address this problem, but remain open to the future need for legislation, and will continue to investigate all options available. We should only legislate where it is absolutely necessary. The government’s preferred approach is to tackle this issue through a sector-led initiative, which is why the department has worked with Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), Universities UK and the National Union of Students to publish guidance last October for all UK Universities on how best to tackle contract cheating.Time is needed to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the new guidance and this is underway. The QAA is running a series of seminars to evaluate how the sector is using the guidance.Officials are also working closely with the QAA on proposals for a UK Centre for Academic Integrity that would help the UK government and the higher education sector to better understand the scale of the problem and identify new ways to tackle the issue.Through the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, we have given the Office for Students the power to take action if higher education providers are found to be, in any way, complicit in cheating. This includes imposing fines or ultimately de-registration, the highest possible punishment. We expect Vice-Chancellors to play their part by adopting robust anti plagiarism and cheating policies which exclude students who use essay mills and by tackling the advertising of these services in their institutions.We welcome the swift action YouTube took to remove videos containing adverts promoting the EduBirdie essay-writing service, in response to recent the BBC Trending investigation on academic cheating, in which it was made very clear that YouTube had a moral responsibility to take action.

Students: Employment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the level of workplace skills of university students in the UK and other countries.

Anne Milton: The department provides data for the annual Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Education at a Glance Report, which provides international comparisons on the skills levels of university graduates. The report confirms that UK graduates have a strong employment rate in line with many other developed European countries. The report is publicly available.Furthermore, the UK Employer Skills Survey 2015 found that the large majority (83%) of employers surveyed who had recruited a university leaver found their recruits to be well or very well prepared for the world of work. Overall, employers appear to be satisfied with recruits from UK universities, with only 5% of employers reporting a 'lack of required skills or competencies' and an overall lower incidence, compared to other educational leavers groups, of 'lack of skills or attitude' in general.

Sleeping Rough: Care Leavers

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2018 to Question 188024 on Care Leavers: Rough Sleeping, whether his Department consulted with representatives of local authorities prior to their announcement of additional funding for local authority areas to employ specialist personal advisers.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2018 to Question 188024 on Care Leavers: Rough Sleeping, how many specialist personal advisers his Department estimates will be provided as a result of the additional funding announced.

Nadhim Zahawi: In the recently announced Rough Sleeping Strategy, the government committed to provide funding to 47 local authorities totalling £3.2 million per year to employ specialist Personal Advisers to provide intensive support to care leavers at highest risk of rough sleeping.This funding will enable local authorities to employ a total of 68 specialist Personal Advisers, who will support up to 680 young people leaving care to secure and sustain suitable accommodation.The Rough Sleeping Strategy was developed with support from the Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel. The advisory panel includes representatives from three local authorities, representatives from Mayoral offices of London, West Midlands and Greater Manchester, as well as the Local Government Association.

Sandy Lane Nursery and Forest School: Finance

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that Sandy Lane Nursery and Forest School in Warrington receives adequate funding to ensure its future sustainability.

Nadhim Zahawi: Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS) make a valuable contribution to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children. They also experience costs over and above those of other early years providers. That is why we are providing local authorities with around £60 million of supplementary funding to enable them to protect MNS funding at least until the period of 2019 to 2020. It is for local authorities to determine how much funding is received by each MNS.All early years funding after the period of 2019 to 2020 will be determined by the next Spending Review.

Schools: Standards

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have been rated by Ofsted as inadequate for (a) two years, (b) three years, (c) four years, (d) five years and (e) more than six years.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have been rated by Ofsted as requires improvement for (a) two years, (b) three years, (c) four years, (d) five years and (e) more than six years.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of (i) primary, (ii) secondary, (iii) special schools and (iv) alternative provision pupils attend schools judged (A) inadequate and (B) requires improvement at the (I) last inspection and (II) last inspection of their predecessor school.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local authority have an Ofsted rating of (i) outstanding, (b) good, (c) requires improvement and (d) inadequate.

Nick Gibb: These are matters for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Schools: Care Leavers and Children in Care

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the level of resources required for teachers, school leaders and other school staff to implement effectively the national protocol on reducing the unnecessary criminalisation of looked-after children and care leavers.

Nadhim Zahawi: The national protocol on reducing criminalisation of looked-after children and care leavers sets out best practice; it does not place any new statutory burdens on local authorities, the police, schools or other agencies. Implementing the protocol is voluntary.Positive practice improvements will ultimately see benefits for young people and the services on which they rely. The protocol has been developed with leaders from across the children’s social care, health and criminal justice sectors and endorsed as a positive step forward for children and young people and the relevant professionals working with them.

Teachers: Pay

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2018 to Question 195465 on Teachers, if he will estimate the number of qualified teachers working in (a) academies, (b) free schools and (c) city technology colleges that are paid less than the appropriate minimum wage on the main pay scale for their geographical location.

Nick Gibb: The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Opportunity North East

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2018 to Question 194656 on Opportunity North East, from which of his Department's budgets will the £12 million be allocated.

Nadhim Zahawi: For 2018-19 and 2019-20, there is no specific budget from which the funding for Opportunity North East will be drawn. As part of normal business planning processes, it will be drawn from existing budget underspends and efficiencies. Funding needed in the next Spending Review period will be prioritised at upcoming negotiations.

Ministry of Justice

Witnesses: Video Recordings

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2018 to Question 131011 on Witnesses; Video Recordings when the Government plans to start the roll-out of Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.

Edward Argar: Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 has been part commenced in Leeds, Liverpool and Kingston since December 2013. We are upgrading the technology that will record and play back recordings of hearings, supporting further roll out of Section 28. Testing of the quality of recordings has shown that progress has been made, supporting a plan to roll out Section 28 commencement to additional Crown Court sites during 2019. HMCTS continues to test the technology which supports these hearings, to ensure that it is right for some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Ministry of Justice: Public Expenditure

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the real terms change was in his Departmental Resource Budget, excluding income received in each year since 2010; and what estimate he has made of the real terms change in that budget in each year until 2022.

Rory Stewart: Holding answer received on 03 December 2018



The table below shows the annual change in the Ministry of Justice’s available total resource funding from HM Treasury, including depreciation, in real terms to 2019/20. Budgets for the years 2020/21 and 2021/22 will be set in the next Spending Review. The figures below represent HMT funding received for 2010/11 – 2017/18, and settlements as agreed at Autumn Statement 2016 for 2018/19 – 2019/20 (which are subject to change).  2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/172017/182018/ 1922019/ 202  Total Resource DEL19.08.98.68.07.77.37.57.86.96.6Total Resource DEL (restated in 2018/19 prices)10.210.09.58.68.27.77.77.96.96.5  Annual real terms increase/(decrease)-2%-5%-9%-5%-6%0%2%-12%-7%Cumulative real terms decrease3%-2%-11%-16%-21%-21%-19%-29%-33%1 Includes both fiscal and non-fiscal funding from HM Treasury. Excludes capital spend. 2 Based on the SR15 Settlement, with revisions as agreed at AS16. The Ministry continues to engage with HM Treasury on the department’s funding requirements ahead of the Spending Review in 2019.

Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU)

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 83 of the Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, under which circumstances the Court of Justice of the European Union can make a judgement involving the interpretation of the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights which could affect the UK after 29 March 2019.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 03 December 2018



The Prime Minister has been clear that the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will end as we leave the EU. The Political Declaration does not include any commitment on the part of the UK to apply the Charter of Fundamental Rights, but recalls the ongoing commitment of the EU and its Member States to the Charter and the UK’s continued commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights. In the Political Declaration we have ensured that the depth and breadth of our cooperation will match the commitments we make on governance and rights.

Care Leavers and Children in Care: Criminal Proceedings

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the additional resources required to enable effective implementation of the national protocol on reducing unnecessary criminalisation of looked-after children and care leavers by Youth Offending Teams, the Crown Prosecution Service, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, and local Youth Panels.

Edward Argar: The National Protocol on Reducing Unnecessary Criminalisation of Looked-after Children and Care Leavers does not place any new statutory burdens on local authorities, the police, or other agencies. Positive practice improvements will ultimately see benefits for young people and the services on which they rely.The Protocol has been developed with leaders from across the children’s social care, health and criminal justice sectors and endorsed as a positive step forward. We recognise that children who offend are often very vulnerable, with multiple and complex needs and difficulties, and are pleased to have fed into the Protocol.

Prisoners Release

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were released in December 2017; and how many of those prisoners were released without having a confirmed fixed address.

Rory Stewart: Of the 5,860 prisoner releases in December 2017, 3,143 were discharged to settled accommodation. The remaining 2,717 were not known to be released to settled accommodation. A further breakdown is shown in the table below*.  Settled accommodationBail/probation accommodationRough sleepingOther homelessOther unsettled accommodationUnknownGrand Total31436342436256835325860  Please note that this cohort consists of offenders released from custody in December 2017, including releases following recall, committal to custody for breach of post sentence supervision, and at sentence or post sentence supervision expiry. Data for offenders released under the supervision of London Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) are excluded due to limited accommodation data information. However, we are taking action to improve recording rates for all CRCs and have seen improvements over the past 12 months. Release on temporary licence (RoTL) and releases where the offender is subject to same-day recall to custody, are not included. Where one offender has had multiple releases over this period, each release and associated accommodation status is counted. All accommodation circumstances are recorded on a ‘first night’ basis; i.e the status that is current to the first night following release from custody. The Government has launched a £100million initiative to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, rough sleeping across England. Through this work we will invest approximately £6 million over two years in a pilot scheme to support individuals released from three prisons, namely Bristol, Leeds and Pentonville. *Notes:Data relating to releases for offenders supervised by London CRC are excluded due to limited accommodation data coverage (London CRC supervised approx. 11% of releases in December 2017).“Settled accommodation” means:any accommodation that provides a permanent independent housing solution including as owner occupier; tenant in a tenancy available for a minimum 3 month period; living as part of a family where the Applicable Person is able to reside in that home permanently and is able to return to that home; living with a friend with a bedroom available for the Applicable Person’s use and access to domestic facilities; a caravan or boat that is viewed by the Applicable Person as his permanent home;supported housing provided by an accredited housing agency that is provided for a minimum 3-month period and includes support for the Applicable Person in relation to moving to a permanent independent housing solution.The definition of “settled accommodation” used in this dataset is different from the definition used for CRC Assurance Metric C (Accommodation on Release), which includes some forms of Bail and Probation Accommodation. “Bail/probation accommodation” includes probation Approved Premises, Bail Accommodation Support Services (BASS) accommodation and accommodation provided by the Home Office Immigration Enforcement Service.“Other homeless” refers to individuals who identify as homeless but have not been identified as sleeping rough. In some cases, it is not recorded whether an individual that is identified as homeless is rough sleeping. These cases have been included in the “other homeless” category."Other unsettled accommodation” refers to individuals living in transient/short term accommodation that does not provide a long-term solution to housing need.

Domestic Violence: Criminal Proceedings

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of victims of domestic violence that were cross-examined by their abuser in the family courts in 2017.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice does not hold the data requested regarding victims of domestic abuse. We are committed to legislating to give family courts the power to prohibit the direct cross-examination of victims by their abusers as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Prisons: Locks and Keys

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2017 to Question 117497 on Prisons: Locks and Keys, if he will publish the latest available figures.

Rory Stewart: Since we provided the response to 5 December 2017 to Question 117497 on Prisons: Locks and Keys there has been one further prison relock, which took place at HMP Wandsworth March 2018 at a cost of £441,649 (excluding VAT).Notes:The figure quoted have been drawn from live administrative databases and may subsequently be amended. Due care is taken during processing and analysis, but the detail is subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.

Treasury

VAT: Electronic Government

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have signed to the Making Tax Digital service for VAT.

Mel Stride: Since the pilot of the Making Tax Digital for VAT service was opened up in mid-October, the number of businesses joining has been growing. Daily take-up during this pilot stage is now more than 60 businesses per day. Businesses will need to join the new service in time to send HMRC their VAT return information before their first deadline after April. For the majority who file quarterly that will be by 7 August 2019 at the earliest. HMRC is continuing to issue letters to all businesses in scope inviting them to join early, so that they can test the service before mandation.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

High Rise Flats: Insulation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2018 to Question 186182 on High Rise Flats: Insulation, who the members are of the (a) ministerially-chaired taskforce and (b) joint expert inspection team.

James Brokenshire: The Private Sector Building Remediation Ministerial Taskforce core membership is:Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentMinister of State for HousingChair of the Local Government AssociationLondon Councils, Executive Member for HousingChair National Fire Chiefs CouncilThe Taskforce is also attended by officials from MHCLG, the Home Office and HM Treasury and by representatives from local authorities and experts from other external organisations depending on the agenda.The joint expert inspection team is being established to support the next phase of work.

Homelessness: Veterans

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of veterans who are homeless in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Linlithgow and East Falkirk Constituency.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government collects quarterly and annual statistics on how many people make homelessness applications to local authorities in England. This information can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics.Details on homelessness in Scotland can be found here:https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/RefTables.Current data tools do not allow for an estimate of the number of veterans who are homeless. However, in April 2018 the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government introduced a new, case-level data collection called H-CLIC (Homelessness Case Level Information Collection), from which the first tranche of data will be released in due course. This will give local authorities and Government more information regarding homelessness and those presenting as homeless, including if they are a previous member of the armed forces and have support needs.

Sleeping Rough

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2018 to Question 191290 on Sleeping Rough, if he will publish a summary of the data collected.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 03 December 2018



Next year we will publish an evaluation of the Rough Sleeping Initiative. This will include relevant information collected from the 83 local authorities as part of the department’s monitoring of the initiative. Official Rough Sleeping statistics providing information on the single night snapshot of rough sleeping in England will be published on the 31 January 2019.

Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the consultation paper, Strengthening consumer redress in housing, announced in February 2018.

James Brokenshire: The recent consultation “Strengthening consumer redress in the housing market” sought views on how to ensure consumers from all tenures have access to appropriate redress when things go wrong with their housing.This included considering how best to bring together all different mechanisms and structures for providing housing related redress, so consumers are always clear who is best placed to resolve their complaint.We have been considering responses to the consultation and intend to publish our response shortly.

Affordable Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the statistical data set, Affordable housing starts and completions funded by Homes England and the GLA, published by his Department,  what steps he is taking to identify the units labelled as unknown tenure type.

James Brokenshire: The affordable housing starts and completions of unknown tenure are all reported to the department by the Greater London Authority (GLA) as part of their affordable housing statistics https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/housing-andland/increasing-housing-supply/affordable-housing-statistics.The GLA has reported that due to transitional changes in implementing the GLA's new project management system the tenure information for some schemes within GLA programmes will be updated in the quarterly publications until transitional system changes are complete.The Department will continue to work with the GLA and when they finalise the information on tenure type of these units it will be updated and included in our statistics.

Building Regulations and Fire Safety Independent Review

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 19 July 2018 on Grenfell Update, HCWS890, what progress he has made on (a) establishing a more effective regulatory regime for fire and building safety and (b) producing an implementation plan for that regime.

Kit Malthouse: The Government will set out how it intends to take forward the recommendations of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety in due course. This will include an outline of the progress it has made to establish a more effective regulatory regime for fire and building safety.

Housing Revenue Accounts

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities to increase housebuilding as a result of the removal of the HRA borrowing cap.

Kit Malthouse: We are developing the planning capacity local authorities need to increase the delivery of new homes through the Planning Delivery Fund. Local authorities are able to draw from a wide range of sector led advice, good practice, and case study examples and we will also be working closely with local authorities to ensure they are able to make the most of the tools we have given them.Local authorities can bid alongside housing associations for the £9 billion Affordable Homes Programme to build affordable homes. We are also providing a longer term rent deal for 5 years from 2020 to provide local authorities with a stable investment environment to deliver new homes and we have consulted on options for allowing local authorities more flexibility in the use of their Right to Buy receipts.

Affordable Housing: Construction

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government has taken to increase the number of affordable homes being built each year since 2014.

Kit Malthouse: The Government is committed to increasing the supply of social housing and has made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver 250,000 new affordable homes of a wide range of tenures, including social rent Our expanded programme will now provide a wider range of homes to meet the housing needs of a range of people in different circumstances and different housing markets – building the right homes in the right places We have listened to the sector. We have increased the size of the Affordable Homes Programme and re-introduced social rent to it, lifted the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap for local authorities, and are setting a long term rent deal for councils and housing associations in England from 2020.   In September 2018, the Prime Minister announced an additional £2 billion of long term funding certainty for housing associations. This extra funding will deliver more affordable homes and stimulate the sector’s wider building ambitions, through strategic partnerships Our ten year funding commitment marks the first time any government has offered housing associations such long-term funding certainty.

Solar Power

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has plans to issue a public consultation on the rules governing permitted development in relation to the installation of commercial rooftop solar.

Kit Malthouse: There are extensive permitted development rights for the installation or alteration of solar equipment on non-domestic premises. They are set out in Class J of Part 14, Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. These rights are subject to limitations as well as conditions on where the equipment can be installed. There are no plans to consult on any changes to these permitted development rights.

Ministry of Defence

Military Police: Inspections

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the last three inspections were carried out by the Independent Police Complaints Commission into any aspect of the military police service; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), formerly the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), has no jurisdiction over the Service Police.The three most recent inspections of the Service Police by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services were an inspection of the Royal Military Police's investigations into overseas deaths (carried out in March 2017 with a report published in March 2018 at the following link:https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/publications/inspection-royal-military-police-investigations-into-overseas-deaths/); an inspection of the Royal Air Force Police's performance management process in April 2018 and an inspection of the leadership of the Royal Navy Police in relation to its investigations in September 2018.

Defence Equipment: Expenditure

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the total amount spent by his Department on military equipment manufactured in the (a) UK, (b) EU, (c) USA and (d) rest of the world since 2010.

Stuart Andrew: The Ministry of Defence does not break down procurement expenditure by country of manufacture.

Ministry of Defence: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many meetings he had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 September and 30 November 2018.

Gavin Williamson: Between 1 September and 30 November 2018 - there have been no meetings between the Secretary of State for Defence and the Chief Scientific Adviser.

Department for Work and Pensions

Access to Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people found eligible for support from Access to Work do not submit a claim for equipment or support after their award has been approved.

Sarah Newton: Holding answer received on 23 November 2018



We do not routinely collect data on the reasons why payments may not have been made. The table below shows the proportion of individuals who had any Access to Work element approved in 2016/17 but to whom no payment was made within 12 months. The number of people who had any Access to Work Element approved in 2016/17Proportion of individuals for whom no payment was made for any Access to Work element approved in 2016/17 within 12 months of approval23,51040% We recently published independent qualitative research, conducted with a small sample of Access to Work recipients, which provides some insight into why some recipients whose applications are approved do not take up payment. This research can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-research-review

Universal Credit: Zero Hours Contracts

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department’s policy is on the sanctioning of claimants of universal credit that receive the limited capability for work element in the event of a (a) refusal of an offer of a zero-hours contract and (b) voluntary termination of a zero-hours contract.

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department’s policy is to sanction universal credit claimants for (a) refusing and (b) voluntarily terminating a zero-hours contract.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 04 December 2018



Claimants on Universal Credit who are found to have Limited Capability for Work are set work preparation activity: they are not required to carry out work search or undertake work. Should a claimant with LCW take up, and then leave a zero hour contract they would not be subject to sanctions. Zero-hours contracts offer flexibility which can be valuable for some individuals. Universal Credit payments adjust automatically depending on the amount a claimant earns, so that a claimant whose hours may change are financially supported and do not need to switch their benefit claim. Therefore, a Universal Credit claimant who is subject to all work related requirements can be expected to apply for a zero-hours contract job if it is considered suitable for their individual circumstances. Where there is good reason why a Universal Credit claimant is unable to take a zero-hours contract job this is taken into account. Sanctions are only applied if no good reason is established. Additionally, sanctions are only applied for leaving a zero-hours contract job voluntarily if no good reason is found.Sanctions are only used in a small percentage of cases, and that is when people fail to meet their agreed commitments without good reason. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.

Personal Independence Payment: Greater Manchester

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data she holds in relation to the number of claimants of disability living allowance in (a) Salford and Eccles constituency and (b) Greater Manchester,  that were not awarded personal independence payments as a result of work capability assessments conducted by Atos between 2010 and 2018.

Sarah Newton: DWP case managers make decisions on all Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims based on the PIP2 questionnaire completed by the claimant, any additional evidence they have submitted, the report from the assessment provider and any additional information the assessment provider has requested, for example information from the claimant’s GP.The work capability assessment is a feature of assessing entitlement to Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and is not part of the PIP assessment process. The Department publishes a range of detailed statistics for PIP on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. These statistics include monthly clearances (decisions) since PIP was introduced in April 2013. Clearance figures can be broken down by clearance type (e.g. whether the claim was awarded, disallowed pre-referral to an assessment provider, disallowed at assessment or withdrawn) and by reassessment type (i.e. whether the claimant was making a new claim or was undergoing Daily Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessment). All clearance data can be broken down by parliamentary constituency and by local authority. Local authorities can be combined to generate other geographies such as Greater Manchester. All PIP claimants in the Greater Manchester area were assessed by Independent Assessment Services (previously known as ATOS).

Department for Work and Pensions: Written Questions

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to Question 195084 tabled on the 23 November 2018, by the hon. Member for Slough.

Alok Sharma: I replied to the hon. Member with the answer to Question 195084 on 4 December 2018.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Subsidies

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost to date of the Government's CAP IT system.

George Eustice: The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Delivery Programme was a combined effort between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rural Payments Agency, Government Digital Service and other bodies to develop new systems and processes to support the implementation of the CAP in England. It was established in 2012 to address failings in how it was previously delivered and to adapt to the increased complexity of the new CAP. More information on the programme costs and benefits can be found at: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/early-review-of-cap-delivery-programme-15-16/ The Programme for England was formally closed in March 2017 at a cost of £216 million. Since programme closure it has cost circa £3m per year to make year on year improvements to the system such as making it available online and on-going maintenance and support. Costs incurred in other regions is a Devolved issue.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff his Department has recruited to conduct work related to the UK leaving the EU since 23 June 2016.

George Eustice: Over 80% of Defra’s agenda is affected by the UK’s departure from the European Union and as a result many roles across the Defra group are now supporting EU exit-related work, either directly or indirectly. Since the 23rd June 2016 Defra group has recruited over 2200* staff including fixed term appointments, interims and some staff redeployed from elsewhere in the group. Over 2000 are already in post with the remainder working though pre-employment processes. *(Data as at the 31st October)

Air Pollution: Children

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to (a) commence and (b) allocate funding to schemes to reduce children's exposure to air pollution; and how much funding will be allocated to each project.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government has put in place a £3.5 billion plan to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions, which includes £495 million for councils to improve air quality. We have consulted on our new world leading Clean Air Strategy, which includes new and ambitious goals, legislation, investment and policies which will help us to clean up our air faster and more effectively.These measures will improve air quality for people of all ages, including children.Defra’s Air Quality Grant Programme provides funding to local authorities for projects in local communities to tackle air pollution and reduce emissions affecting schools, businesses and residents. Local authorities have a duty to monitor and assess air quality and to take action to reduce pollution where these breach statutory limits, and are best placed to determine local priorities.The 2018/2019 scheme is underway and Defra will award at least £3 million to English local authorities that have one or more Air Quality Management Areas.Whilst all measures which reduce air pollution will reduce children’s exposure to these harmful pollutants, some projects have elements that are specifically targeted at children. For example:In 2016-17, the London Borough of Islington were awarded £50,000 to run a local school focused awareness and engagement campaign through the air quality grant.In 2017/18, Spelthorne Borough Council were given £145,188 to run an awareness campaign in schools across Surrey.Details of further funding from the Air Quality Grant Programme, including funding specifically directed at children can be found on the Air Quality Grant Programme webpage here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/air-quality-grant-programme.

Marine Management Organisation: Staff

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much it has cost on average to (a) recruit and (b) train each marine enforcement officer in the latest period for which figures are available.

George Eustice: As fisheries management is devolved the information provided relates to England only. Information on the costs associated with the training and recruitment of a Marine Enforcement Officer (MEO) is not held and will depend on a number of factors, including the location of and number of posts available at a particular time, the recruitment process undertaken and the on-going nature of training throughout an MEO’s employment.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings he had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 September and 30 November 2018.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State has had two bilateral meetings with Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 September and 30 November 2018. The Chief Scientific Adviser also regularly attends other Secretary of State meetings on wider issues.

Home Office

Gangs: Crime

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle Albanian crime gangs in the UK.

Mr Ben Wallace: There are at least 4,600 Organised Crime Groups operating in the UK. A small proportion are foreign national groups, such as those with connections to Albania and the Western Balkans. In its National Strategic Assessment, published in May 2018, the NCA assessed that Organised Crime Groups with links to the Western Balkans dominate the wholesale cocaine market in the UK.The Government’s response to the threat posed by these groups is set out in the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy launched in November 2018.

Drug Seizures: Testing

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answers of 23 October and 22 November 2018 to Questions 179178 and 191899 on Cannabis: Misuse, whether the National Crime Agency (a) does not routinely test the strength of street cannabis or (b) monitors the strengths of all illicit drugs seized by the police.

Mr Ben Wallace: In response to the two questions regarding drug strength, I can confirm that:(a) the testing and analysis of seized drugs is carried out by forensic service providers and not the National Crime Agency (NCA).(b) the National Crime Agency (NCA) does monitor the purity levels and adulteration patterns of certain illegal drugs seized and submitted for forensic analysis in England and Wales, however this does not currently or routinely include the monitoring of cannabis seizures. The NCA provides purity data for other illicit drugs to Focal Point UK who publish this data in their annual report. Relevant information for 2017 can be found in Tables 7.3 and 7.4 of thttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/713101/Focal_Point_Annual_Report.pdf

Passports: Lost Property

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passports sent out by his Department were reported as lost in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018 to date.

Caroline Nokes: The table below shows the number of newly issued UK passports lost during delivery for 2017 and up to and including July 2018.There is a three month process in place to allow for investigation and possible recovery. Data of reported delivery losses from August 2018 onwards is therefore not confirmed.YearLossesTotal Volume Delivered% Losses against Deliveries20173006,749,7690.00442018 (January to July)2424,856,7550.005

Offenders: Ethnic Groups

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information his Department holds on the ethnicity of each offender and their victim in murder cases in each of the last three years in cases where the ethnicity of the perpetrator and the victim was recorded as being different.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office Homicide Index holds information on the ethnicity of both victims and suspects for homicide offences recorded by the police in England and Wales.The information requested for the latest available three years (2014/15 to 2016/17) is given in the table. Number of homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales, by ethnicity of victim and principal suspect where a suspect has been convicted of homicide, committed suicide or died for year ending March 2015 Suspect ethnicity self-definedVictim ethnicity (visual)Asian or Asian BritishBlack or Black BritishChinese or other ethnic groupMixedWhiteNot recorded/not knownGrand Total NumbersAsian (Indian sub-continent)151116226Black127265445Other12117012White6204523115281Not known/not recorded0100517Total235181325422371Source: Homicide Index, Home Office   1. As at 16 November 2017; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.Number of homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales, by ethnicity of victim and principal suspect where a suspect has been convicted of homicide, committed suicide or died for year ending March 2016  Suspect ethnicity self-defined Victim ethnicity (visual)Asian or Asian BritishBlack or Black BritishMixedWhiteNot recorded/not knownGrand Total  Numbers Asian (Indian sub-continent)15312122 Black12559242 Other1216010 White417719713238 Not known/not recorded0006511 Total21471422021323 Source: Homicide Index, Home Office   1. As at 16 November 2017; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. Number of homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales, by ethnicity of victim and principal suspect where a suspect has been convicted of homicide, committed suicide or died for year ending March 2017 Suspect ethnicity self-definedVictim ethnicity (visual)Asian or Asian BritishBlack or Black BritishChinese or other ethnic groupMixedWhiteNot recorded/not knownGrand Total NumbersAsian (Indian sub-continent)103004118Black416021124Other0100203White42181415161Not known/not recorded0000617Total18221101548213Source: Homicide Index, Home Office   1. As at 16 November 2017; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available..

Metropolitan Police: Interserve

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department is making contingency plans in the event that Interserve is unable to continue to provide traffic management services on behalf of the Metropolitan Police.

Mr Nick Hurd: Operational policing, including contract management and business continuity, matters at the Metropolitan Police are the responsibility of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and the Commissioner.

Asylum: Libya

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied minors previously held in Libyan detention centres the UK has resettled.

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people the UK has resettled from the Emergency Transit Mechanism in Niger following their evacuation from Libya.

Caroline Nokes: UNHCR is conducting lifesaving evacuations of targeted groups of extremely vulnerable persons of concern currently in Libya who have been subject to serious violations of their human rights, including different forms of inhumane treatment and indefinite detention without access to effective legal remedies.Following UNHCR’s appeal for resettlement places, the UK has committed to resettle some of the most vulnerable refugees who have been evacuated by UNHCR from Libya to Niger. This will include unaccompanied minors.Our prime concern is their safety and protection as they arrive in this country. We want to protect their privacy and ensure their recovery and integration, as they rebuild their lives in safe and secure surroundings, among supportive communities in the UK. We will, therefore, not be providing a running commentary on this specific cohort.

Immigrants: DNA

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of immigration cases in which her Department requested a DNA test was the applicant previously issued with a British passport.

Caroline Nokes: The data requested is not available. The Department does not maintain records in a form that would enable this information to be supplied.

Immigrants: DNA

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress his Department has made on its review of the DNA test requirements for immigration cases.

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timeframe is for the publication of the review of the DNA test requirements for immigration cases.

Caroline Nokes: Darra Singh OBE has been appointed to conduct an independent assessment on the Home Office’s approach to establishing the numbers involved, the operational response, the policy response and the extent to which follow-up training and communications have addressed the issue.The review will be completed in the first half of 2019, and the results published.

Airports: Security

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his policy is on maintaining national security at smaller airports and airfields that facilitate cost-sharing flights between the UK and EU member states.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force Pilots are subject to the same reporting requirements whether they are operating a flight sharing aircraft or another general aviation aircraft; assesses 100% of general aviation flights notified to Border Force arriving into the UK.

Immigration Controls: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,  what the status is of Operation Gull in Northern Ireland.

Caroline Nokes: Operation Gull in Northern Ireland is an Immigration Enforcement intelligence led operation. Immigration officers conduct periodic document checks at Northern Ireland’s air and sea ports to intercept illegal migrants travelling between Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain by way of the land border.

British Nationality: Fathers

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will bring forward legislative changes to the British Nationality Act 1981 to ensure that biological fathers are recognised for nationality purposes in cases where the biological mother is not a British citizen.

Caroline Nokes: The British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA 1981) already provides for biological fathers to be recognised as the father for nationality purposes where the mother is not married to another man and proof of paternity has been established.In cases where the mother is married to a man other than the biological father and that biological father is a British citizen or settled in the UK, a child can apply for registration as a British citizen under section 3(1) of the BNA 1981.We are aware of the case of K (A child) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWHC 1834 (Admin)(18 July 2018) and are considering the impact of this.

Undocumented Migrants: Salford and Eccles

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data his Department holds on the number of people resident in Salford and Eccles constituency that (a) did not have a legal right to stay and (b) were removed or forced to depart the UK  in (i) 2011 (ii) 2012 (iii) 2013 (iv) 2014 (v) 2015 (vi) 2016 (vii) 2017 (viii) 2018.

Caroline Nokes: Any estimate of the exact size of the illegal population in Salford and Eccles constituency is extremely difficult and there would be considerable uncertainty around it.Exit checks were introduced in April 2015 and are, over time, providing more detailed insights into the behaviour of migrants and how they comply with the restrictions placed upon their length of stay in the UK. The Government is focused on making it harder for people to live in the UK illegally.For those removed or forced to depart the UK across the periods specified, providing the information requested would require a manual check of individual records which could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Female Genital Mutilation

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate his Department has made of the number of women that were (a) victims of and (b) considered to be at risk of female genital mutilation since the introduction of the Serious Crime Act 2015.

Victoria Atkins: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. The Government is clear that we will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong suffering to women and girls.Data on FGM includes a 2015 City University and Equality Now study, part funded by the Home Office, which estimated that 137,000 women and girls who had migrated to England and Wales were living with the consequences of FGM, and approximately 60,000 girls aged 0-14 were born in England and Wales to mothers who had undergone FGM. The study also provides a breakdown of FGM prevalence estimates by local authority area which is available online at http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/12382/.In addition, NHS Digital publishes data on the prevalence of FGM within the NHS in England. The most recent quarterly statistics were published in September 2018. A detailed breakdown of these statistics, including by local authority and age, is available online at https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/female-genital-mutilation. To improve understanding of the prevalence of so-called ‘Honour Based Violence’ including FGM, we amended the police Annual Data Requirement (ADR) to allow police forces the opportunity from April 2018 to record on a voluntary basis where a crime has been committed in the context of preserving the ‘honour’ of a family or community. This new voluntary collection is also capturing police recorded offences of FGM which were initially reported to the police under the duty.

Asylum: Slavery

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2018 to Question 193378, how many victims of slavery (a) have been paid a full back payment and (b) are due arrears.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2018 to Question 193378, with reference to the High Court Judgement in respect of K & Anor, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department of 8 November 2018, whether all victims of slavery have automatically received the new subsistence rate since that judgment.

Victoria Atkins: The Government is committed to tacking the scourge of modern slavery and supporting those affected by this crime.In 2017, Home Office Ministers agreed a comprehensive package of reforms to the National Referral Mechanism, which included the introduction of places of safety for those leaving situations of exploitation, trebling the period of move on support to assist victims moving out of government funded support and aligning the subsistence rates paid to potential victims of modern slavery with those received by asylum seekers.In light of the judgment in K and AM, the Home Office has immediately reinstated the top up paid to those in the Victim Care Contract who are also receiving support from the asylum support system, so that they receive a total of £65 per week.We are currently putting in place processes to ensure that those who have been affected receive a full back payment as soon as possible, and will set out how we plan to respond in due course, including our communications with all those affected.We are committed to reforming the National Referral Mechanism to ensure that as many victims of modern slavery as possible get the support they need.

Police: Mental Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services entitled Policing and Mental Health: Picking Up the Pieces, published on 26 November 2018, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of Merseyside Police's estimate that 25 per cent of its officers' time is spent on mental health issues.

Mr Nick Hurd: Over the last several years police forces have estimated that mental health cases may represent between 20 and 40 percent of total demand. In some such cases, including for example those involving criminality or public safety, police involvement may well be necessary.However, the Government has been clear that the police should not be expected to care on an ongoing basis for those who have committed no offence but who require professional healthcare. The Government is working closely with the police and health services to better understand the precise scale and nature of mental health demands, and how these may best be addressed.

Wales Office

Wales and Borders Rail Franchise

Conor McGinn: What discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on Transport for Wales’s management of the Wales and Borders rail franchise.

Nigel Adams: I hold regular discussions with the Welsh Government and Transport for Wales on rail services in Wales, including the new Wales and Borders franchise. I have also met with the Director of Keolis this week, who have recently taken over the running of the train service in Wales. The devolution of the Franchise is an example of effective co-operation between the Welsh and UK Governments. It is vital that Transport for Wales resolves the service issues affecting the Franchise as soon as possible.

Church Commissioners

Christ Church College

John Howell: To ask the Rt. Hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to her oral contribution of 29 November, Official Report, what status the suspension of the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, from his role as Dean of the Anglican cathedral has as a result of the complaint being an internal matter for the college and neither the Church Commissioners nor the wider Church of England has any role in that process.

Dame Caroline Spelman: Christ Church Oxford is a joint foundation comprising both College and Cathedral. The post of Dean being indivisible, the different aspects of his or her duties cannot be separated. Under the statutes of Christ Church, where a complaint is referred to a Tribunal, the Senior ex-Censor may choose to suspend the Dean from his or her duties without loss of salary.The statutes of Christ Church Oxford may be read here: https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/StatutesofChristChurchOxford.27.4.16.pdf

Cabinet Office

Poverty

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prosperity Fund: Annual Report 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Treasury-delivered projects in tackling (a) persistent poverty, (b) high levels of inequality and (c) potential instability.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prosperity Fund: Annual Report 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of projects delivered by the Department for International Development in tackling (a) persistent poverty, (b) high levels of inequality and (c) potential instability.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prosperity Fund: Annual Report 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of projects delivered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in tackling (a) persistent poverty, (b) high levels of inequality and (c) potential instability.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prosperity Fund: Annual Report 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of projects delivered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in tackling (a) persistent poverty, (b) high levels of inequality and (c) potential instability.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prosperity Fund: Annual Report 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the fund's effectiveness in supporting inclusive growth in middle income countries.

Mr David Lidington: All programmes need to demonstrate how they will address persistent poverty and high levels of inequality as part of the Fund’s primary purpose. Before approval is given to programmes to begin implementation, they are required to go through a rigorous design and assurance process, using the HMT five-case business case model, which requires robust and detailed analysis of the programme’s expected impact. It is too early to assess the full effectiveness of the programmes detailed in the annual report; programmes are currently in their first year of delivery or have received funding for preparatory activity. The Prosperity Fund has contracted external suppliers to provide robust monitoring and evaluation across the portfolio of programmes. They will provide rigorous evidence and assessment of the Fund’s development objectives. Assessments will also be made as part of regular programme annual reviews. These reviews will be published in line with the Fund’s transparency commitments.

Interserve

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release New 'Social Value' contracts to revolutionise government procurement published on 19 November 2018, what steps is the Crown Commercial Service is taking to obtain from Interserve the key organisational information that he said could have smoothed the management of the liquidation of Carillion.

Oliver Dowden: Government will obtain the kind of information which could have smoothed the management of the Carillion insolvency by introducing living wills. Interserve is one of the suppliers who have volunteered to pilot the use of living wills.

Interserve

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the written evidence submitted by Interserve to the Public Accounts Committee on 6 June 2018,  Strategic Suppliers SSU0003, whether Crown Representatives are able to discuss issues relating to contracts not yet awarded with strategic suppliers.

Oliver Dowden: Crown Representatives work with Strategic Suppliers to understand their bid pipeline, and to get market perspectives on particular types of service. Once specific procurements have begun, Crown Representatives do not engage with suppliers on those procurements.

Public Sector: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Public Procurement Review Service's spot checks on procurement documents apply to the contracting authority only.

Oliver Dowden: The spot checks on procurement documents only apply to contracting authorities within the public sector.

Public Sector: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many of the spot checks on procurement documents carried out by the Public Procurement Review Service in the last 12 months revealed non-compliance with public procurement regulations.

Oliver Dowden: Spot checks undertaken in the last 12 months have been targeted where we were aware that a contracting authority had previously not complied with a part of public procurement regulations, and where contracting authorities are not advertising tender opportunities on Contracts Finder appropriately. We had 100% compliance when following up with the contracting authority applying a recommendation we had previously made from our investigation. We had a 82.25% success rate following intervention with a contracting authority which was not advertising tender opportunities on all the correct portals.

Public Sector: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many of the the spot checks on procurement documents carried out by the Public Procurement Review Service in the last 12 months resulted in the Crown Commercial Service providing guidance to the relevant contracting authority.

Oliver Dowden: Spot checks undertaken in the last 12 months have been targeted where we were aware that a contracting authority had previously not complied with a part of public procurement regulations, and where contracting authorities are not advertising tender opportunities on Contracts Finder appropriately. Therefore the majority of spot checks undertaken in the last 12 months have resulted in the Public Procurement Review Service providing guidance to the relevant contracting authority at some point. We did not provide guidance on the spot checks that were classed as following up recommendations from our investigations, these contract authorities had already received the guidance in the form of a recommendation.

Pubic Sector: Billing

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release of 29 November 2018 entitled Crack down on suppliers who don’t pay on time,  whether identification of late payment by public sector contractors will include payment information from Crown Commercial Service investigations.

Oliver Dowden: Large suppliers are already required by law to publish their payment records every 6 months on Gov.uk. Departments will be able to use these records as part of the assessment to ensure the criteria is met. These are published here https://www.gov.uk/check-when-businesses-pay-invoices If a business is unable to demonstrate that they are meeting the core standard of paying 95% of invoices within 60 days over the previous two six month periods and cannot explain why or show evidence of significant remedial action taking place, then they may be excluded from the process and not be able to win that opportunity. Decisions will be taken on a case by case basis. Companies are also required to demonstrate they have procedures for resolving disputed invoices promptly, and that systems are in place to ensure those in supply chains are paid within agreed contractual terms.

Government Departments: Billing

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release of 29 November 2018 entitled Crack down on suppliers who don’t pay on time, which mechanism his Department plans to use to prohibit firms with poor payment practices winning government contracts.

Oliver Dowden: If a business is unable to demonstrate that they are meeting the code’s core standard of paying 95% of invoices within 60 days over the previous two six month periods and cannot explain why or show evidence of significant remedial action taking place, then they may be excluded from the process and not be able to win that opportunity. Decisions will be taken on a case by case basis. Companies are also required to demonstrate they have procedures for resolving disputed invoices promptly, and that systems are in place to ensure those in supply chains are paid within agreed contractual terms. Large suppliers are already required by law to publish their payment records every 6 months on Gov.uk. Departments will be able to use these records as part of the assessment to ensure the criteria is met. These are published here https://www.gov.uk/check-when-businesses-pay-invoices

Public Sector: Billing

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release of 29 November 2018 entitled Crack down on suppliers who don’t pay on time,  whether he plans to allocate additional resources to the Crown Commercial Service to improve identification of poor payment practices.

Oliver Dowden: The Cabinet Office regularly reviews staff numbers to ensure that teams are adequately resourced.

Living Wage and Minimum Wage: Greater Manchester

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the number of people in each parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester that are paid the (a) national minimum wage and (b) national living wage.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response 
(PDF Document, 66.8 KB)

Cabinet Office: Written Questions

Layla Moran: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to Named Day Question 192871, tabled by the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon.

Chloe Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on Tuesday 4 December 2018 PQ192871.

Department for International Trade

Manufacturing Industries: Foreign Companies

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in other countries on the benefits of manufacturers operating in those countries basing their manufacturing operations in the UK.

Graham Stuart: My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State regularly promotes manufacturing excellence and the benefits of investing in the UK, including with his counterparts from other countries. Recent examples include the Secretary of State’s visit to China, where he discussed investment in the UK technology sector, and his visit to Germany, where he met with Siemens. The recent EY publication on FDI into Towns and Cities in the UK has shown that 57% of manufacturing FDI projects were attracted to places outside Core Cities or Large Towns, helping address geographic imbalances between cities and other locations benefits.

Trade Agreements

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the UK will be able to agree free trade deals with third countries during the transitional period proposed in the withdrawal agreement with the EU.

George Hollingbery: The UK cannot negotiate trade agreements whilst we are members of the EU. Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, the UK will be free to negotiate, sign, and ratify Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) during the Implementation Period (IP). We can only implement those agreements once the IP comes to an end.

Overseas Trade: Sri Lanka

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent estimate he has made of the level of bi-lateral trade with Sri Lanka.

Graham Stuart: Total trade in goods and services (i.e. exports plus imports) between the UK and Sri Lanka was £1.2bn in year to end 2018 Q2. In year to end 2018 Q2, UK exports to Sri Lanka amounted to £317m (a 2.3% increase from year to end 2017 Q2) while UK imports from Sri Lanka were £917m (a 19.0% decrease from year to end 2017 Q2).

Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the value of UK-made military equipment sold to the Saudi Government since 2010.

Graham Stuart: Sales data by region for military exports are published annually on GOV.UK. at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-and-security-exports-for-2017/uk-defence-and-security-export-statistics-for-2017.The Government also publishes Official Statistics about export licences granted and refused on a quarterly and annual basis, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data. The data, which includes export values for some licences, currently provides details of licences up to 30 June 2018. Information covering the period 1 July to 30 September 2018 will be published in January 2018.However, licences granted are not a measure of sales or exports shipped in a given period as they are generally valid for between two and five years. Licensing data only provides a partial indication of sales as exporters only declare export values for a subsection of licences (Standard Individual Export Licences). Some licences expire before they are used and in these circumstances exporters must submit a further application, which can result in a significant element of double counting.

Overseas Trade: West Africa

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with the Economic Community of West African States on trade with the UK after the UK has left the EU.

Graham Stuart: On leaving the EU, the Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act will enable the Government to put in place a UK trade preferences scheme for developing countries. This will provide the same level of access as the current EU trade preference scheme meaning continued duty-free, quota-free access for Least Developed Countries which are part of the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS) and generous tariff reductions for other ECOWAS countries. In the absence of this regional agreement, EU ‘stepping stone’ Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana have been provisionally applied since 2016. As the UK exits the EU, we aim to replicate the effects of these EPAs to avoid trade disruption with these countries. We have been in dialogue with both Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to achieve this continuity. Currently there is no agreement in force between the EU and the 16 West Africa States, the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS). Should this change, the UK would look to transition the agreement.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Lotteries

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the June 2018 Gambling Commission advice on society lotteries which noted that such lotteries have not affected National Lottery sales and both represent complementary streams of funding for the charity sector.

Mims Davies: DCMS requested advice from the Gambling Commission on potential reforms to society lotteries following the publication of the Select Committee’s report in March 2015. The Gambling Commission were asked to make recommendations considering three high level objectives: The regulatory framework for society lotteries should not be overly burdensome and new entrants should not face unnecessary barriers; Public trust and confidence in society lotteries and the good causes with which they are associated should be maintained; Reform should not jeopardise the position of the National Lottery and its returns to good causes. This advice was published in June 2018 alongside the consultation on society lotteries which closed on 7 September 2018. Evidence from the Gambling Commission suggests that to date society lottery sales have not significantly impacted the National Lottery. Any changes must maintain this balance, enabling society lotteries to grow without detriment to the National Lottery. The consultation received over 1,600 responses and my officials are now in the process of considering the range of views that were submitted, including evidence about the potential impact on the National Lottery. I hope to formally respond to the consultation in the first half of 2019.

Government Departments: Flags

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether (a) Downing Street and (b) other government buildings in Whitehall display county flags to commemorate annual county days.

Michael Ellis: There is no specific government policy regarding the flying of flags and no guidance is issued to government departments to display county flags to commemorate annual county days. However, current planning regulations allow local and county flags to be flown by individuals without planning permission, and as such government buildings may choose to display the relevant county flag on the respective county days. Unfortunately, as flag flying is now deregulated, DCMS does not hold records on the flying of flags by other government departments, other than on the designated days for flying the Union Flag.

Sports Competitors

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will hold discussions with (a) his counterparts in the devolved administration and (b) the relevant sporting bodies to ensure that sportspeople in all parts of the UK can represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Mims Davies: It is open to all sportspeople in the UK to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland where appropriate. In addition, both the UK Government and UK Sport recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose. This right extends to athletes from Northern Ireland having the choice to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland or Ireland at a national level in their given sport should they wish to do so. At times this will be subject to the overarching rules applied by the individual Governing Bodies of the sport. Sporting matters are devolved, and eligibility and selection for international competition remain matters for the relevant sports authorities. However, sporting organisations have an important role to play in contributing to inclusion in Northern Ireland and across the United Kingdom. Through the sports cabinet, I will continue to discuss sporting matters across the UK.

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of whether the target for listening and coverage will be met for a switchover to digital radio in 2019.

Margot James: Take up of digital radio by listeners continues to make good progress and has exceeded 50% share of all radio listening. We are considering the next steps for supporting the future development of digital radio.